Vader’s Empire
by Emperor Ferus
Summary: AU of ROTJ, if the throne room had gone like the one in The Last Jedi. Vader kills the hated Emperor and teams with his son Luke against the guards, but will not turn from the dark side. What will this mean for the Rebellion? For Luke, Leia and their friends?
1. chapter 1

Luke gazed out of the aptly bleak throne room towards the distant space battle over the forest moon of Endor. His friends were in grave danger, he could sense it. Han, Leia, and the others had walked into a trap, all because he'd played the hero and foolishly accompanied them to the shield generator, right into Vader's gloved fist.

His father's breathing... no, Vader's breathing rang out as the Sith Lord stood by the throne of his Master, the sinister Emperor Palpatine. A dilemma racing through his mind, Luke glanced back at the emperor who was leering at him through his yellow eyes.

"You want this, don't you," teased Palpatine, "I can feel your anger. Give into your hatred. Take your Jedi weapon and strike me down with all of your hatred!"

Luke's eyes moved to the shining lightsaber that he'd constructed, sitting on the arm of the Emperor's throne.

He tried to keep in him the teachings of his Jedi mentors Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda. _A Jedi must use the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack._

He was dangerously close to giving into his hatred, his hatred for the Empire and the man who had brought terror upon the galaxy.

Vader's mask remained expressionless as he studied his son, waiting for his next move. Vader himself faced an internal conflict. What if Luke should strike at the Emperor. Should Vader defend Palpatine or allow his son to fulfill the mission he had invited his son to join him on? Would he be punished if Luke tried and failed to kill Palpatine?

Luke stepped backwards from the throne, towards the stairs leading to the elevator where Palpatine's Red Guards stood at attention, armed with deadly pikes. Even if he had to lay down his life, Luke would not betray the rebellion or his friends. He would die believing in hope, hope that would continue through Leia and the alliance under her command. She would be strong in the Force like he had been.

"Never," he breathed, bracing himself to pay dearly, "I'll never turn to the dark side." Luke's confidence grew as he spoke, staring down the Emperor right into his evil, soulless eyes. "I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

The Emperor glared back at Luke, analyzing the young man carefully before reluctantly accepting that he could not convert Vader's son to replace his apprentice. "So be it, Jedi."

Vader stepped forward, his aura in the Force unreadable. Luke gazed into his father's soul, behind his mask of iron, detecting the same conflict as before. Anakin Skywalker was in there, trying to break out of Vader's shell.

"If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed," Palpatine snarled.

Luke took in a deep breath as the old Emperor raised a spidery hand, unleashing a web of dark energy.

Luke could not help but scream as the agony came all at once, knocking him onto his back and sending jolts of burning through his veins, his bones, his organs.

The Emperor stepped forward and cackled from under his cloak of masquerade. He sent out another jet of lightning, tearing through the Jedi before him.

Luke tried to summon calm and peace as the energy tormented his body, his very existence. He wanted it to end, he wanted to die now, before his suffering was prolonged.

But that was the Emperor's revenge, to make Luke pay in more than death for rejecting the dark side. The boy would die knowing nothing but pain and sorrow, with anything else a bitter memory.

Vader watched the proceedings, lost in his own damaged head as Luke cried out horribly, echoing throughout the Death Star's north tower. The Emperor was busy, entirely focused on his victim before him.

Vader had no moral qualms or reservations about ending his master's life, it had always been a matter of timing. And now that he had his son here, taking in the power of the dark side in full, Luke would be at the perfect stage in turning fully to fight at his father's side.

But would Luke really betray his Rebel allies so easily at this point. There was only one way to find out, and either way, there was no reason the Emperor needed to stay alive. It would be a great risk, especially if the attempt failed, but Vader knew that there would never be a better chance.

By this time, Luke's breathing had almost ceased and he could barely feel himself as the intensity of his pain brought him on the brink of unconsciousness. He let out a groan as Emperor Palpatine released a final, fatal Force lightning assault.

But at that moment, the sound of a lightsaber blade snapped to life, and the nightmare was over. Luke's senses began to gradually return as the red rod of plasma stabbed through the Emperor's cloak.

Standing in front of Vader, the Emperor's mouth opened in shock as he looked down at the lightsaber drilling through him. Then, Vader pulled his lightsaber out of the Emperor and Palpatine's body came crashing down onto the staircase with a thud.

Luke finally found the strength to get up from his back, gaping in amazement at his father.

The red glow of his blade illuminating his black face visor and body armor, Vader was already looking past Luke at the red guards who were advancing, eager to avenge their fallen master.

Without further heaitation, Luke summoned the Force to him and reached for the lightsaber still sitting on the throne.

The green blade hummed to life as it found its way into Luke's hand. The young Jedi had to quickly turn to parry a blow from the nearest guard's pike as it clashed against his lightsaber.

Retreating towards the throne, Luke blocked the strokes as both guards were upon him.

Vader suddenly charged forward, his cape waving behind him as he raised a gloved hand and used the Force to seize one of the guards.

The guard dropped his pike as he rose off the throne room steps, choking for air as Vader crushed his throat. Luke ducked as the other guard swung his metal pike towards his head and rebuked with a lightsaber strike to the leg.

The green blade cut into the guard's shin, and a howl followed. Luke came up, then felt a terrible pain hit him in the stomach. He was backwards by the guard, who was wounded by Luke's lightsaber.

Vader finished off the second guard with a lightsaber sweep that cut him in half. Disoriented, Luke struggled on the railing to his feet as he switched off his blade.

His menacing breathing ringing in Luke's ears, Darth Vader likewise deactivated his saber as he scanned the bodies along the throne room.

Wasting no time, Luke raced back to the window, where the Rebel cruisers were doing battle with the Imperial Star Destroyers. He sensed Leia on Endor, still alive and fighting. Han was down there too, and Chewbacca, and the droids...

"Father, you can still call off the fleet. We can end this battle now."

Vader didn't reply right away, but continued his ominous breathing as he approached his son and gazed out into the silent battle amid the vacuum of space. Luke felt an involuntary chill as the towering dark lord came up behind him.

Luke turned to look up at the helmeted, caped

figure next to him. "Father?"

Vader's silence was more threatening than any Force choke or lightsaber attack. As he subtly probed into his father's mind, Luke was shocked and horrified at what he sensed.

The death of Emperor Palpatine had not brought out the good Skywalker that Luke had hoped, but rather, Darth Vader relished in the dark side more than he ever had as a Sith Lord. He had achieved his main goal for the second half of his life and he now faced no obstacles to crowning himself as ruler of the galaxy.

"It is done," Vader said at last, "Palpatine is dead."

Luke turned away from the window, facing Darth Vader directly.

"We can end the war, right here in this room," Luke was now trying to make a desparate appeal to his father, searching for an inkling that maybe not all hope was lost. "You have command over the fleet and the Death Star. You can save thousands of lives."

Finally, Vader spoke after an eternal, hellish silence. "The only way this war can end is in victory for the Empire. We must crush the Rebellion once and for all today, in this battle. The lives of your friends depend on it, the smuggler Solo, the Princess of Alderaan."

Luke cringed, despair replacing the strong perseverance that had carried him this far. If he was too maintain his Jedi ideals and protect the Rebels and his friends, there was no turning his father back, at least not now.

He wondered then whether Vader knew about Leia and the family connection they shared. Had he known when he'd tortured her on the first Death Star, or on Bespin when he'd taken them all prisoner?

Now was a better time to determine the answer than ever. Clearing his throat, Luke spoke up without further reservation.

"There's something else you need to know, Father. The Rebel leader Princess Leia, she's my... twin sister." There was no beating around it. Now that Luke had spilled the secret, he remained on edge with anticipation for his father's reaction.

Vader scanned Luke's mind in the Force, as well as his heart and his deepest emotions. He detected the truth to those words in that moment. So he had not one but two children that the treacherous Obi Wan had kept secret from him. He had never felt such hatred for the Jedi Order and his deceased former Master.

"So, you have a twin sister," Vader replied, deliberately injecting a taunt in his words, "Obi Wan was wise to hide her from me."

Luke backed away and side stepped, not daring to avert his eyes from the tall Sith Lord before him. The battle grew closer as the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Lando Calrissian, led the counterattack on the Star Destroyers.

"Now his failure is complete," Vader persisted in his goading, intending fully to draw out his son's inner anger, "if you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps she will."

This caught Luke right in the heartstrings. Leia was the last hope for the Jedi, for the rebellion, for the galaxy. Losing all reason, he ignited his green blade of poison and screamed, "Never!", lunging at his dark enemy.

Vader was prepared for this offensive, raising his hand and pushing Luke against the throne room wall.

Thrashing in fury, Luke struggled against the grip his father was keeping him in, slashing his lightsaber up

and down, wanting to make Vader pay for daring to touch Leia.

Concentrating with all the will of the dark side, Vader restrained Luke as he stood a safe distance away, pinning the boy against the wall.

As he found himself unable to advance, Luke once again allowed himself to be filled with calmness as he summoned the Force to him.

Using not his hate but his loyalty to his friends and allies, Luke raised his flesh hand while gripping his lightsaber hilt with his other hand, pushing against Vader's might.

Luke's body strained as he resisted against his father's power. Vader grunted as he was pushed back slightly, staggering. Luke at last managed to come forward, pushing against Vader with the power of the Force.

His energy was once again draining from him. Luke concentrated with all his might, resisting intensely against his enemy.

At last, Luke found himself slipping away. As he collapsed on the floor of the Death Star throne room in exhaustion, he saw Vader flying backwards as well. Then everything went as black as the throne room's interior.


	2. Pride Before a Fall

The land battle on Endor was an array of confusion and chaos. First Han, Leia, Chewbacca and their Rebel strike team had been captured by the Imperials within the shield generator. Then the little furry Ewok creatures with the aid of the droids See Threepio and Artoo Deetoo had come to their rescue. And now a battle raged throughout the forest as Ewoks pushed logs into the paths of ATST walkers and crushed their cockpits with booby traps, Han and Leia were shooting all over the place at anything in white armor as they fought their way back to the shield generator.

Artoo and Threepio hurried after them as the leading duo raced under the archway leading into the sealed entrance of the generator. Blasterfire and artillery shells rang out in the background as Artoo plugged himself into the panel that opened the doorway into the nerve center of the Death Star looming over them.

Han and Leia shot back at the troopers who attempted to stop them, hiding behind the entryway as the shots flew across the bark and tree leaves that had fallen from the conifers.

Just as Artoo managed to turn the right screw, a loud bang whizzed past Threepio and sent an electrical shock running through his round, mechanical body.

With a squeal, Artoo was blasted backwards and slammed against the opposite wall, a mess of smoke and broken wires.

"Artoo, why did you have to be so brave," Threepio fretted, his mourning disguiesed as scolding.

"Well," Han sighed with weariness, "I guess I can hotwire this thing."

"I'll cover you," Leia stood in front of the Rebel general with her blaster raised as Han began to tamper with the wires of the control panel.

All of the sudden, Leia felt a warmth entering her, the warmth of home and family. She realized almost immediately that it was Luke, though she now knew how she could feel his presence. She was still recovering from the shock of his revelation to her, that they were in fact twins and their father was none other than the Rebellion's greatest enemy, and her own torturer, Darth Vader.

Thanks to the battle and Luke's departure, Leia had had little time to process it. Yet the reassurance that he had come unharmed was a good one, and it filled her with hope that had been running thin.

The stolen Imperial shuttle touched down on the landing platform on top of the generator. Filling himself with peace and purpose in preparation for the battle ahead, Luke stepped off the ramp of the shuttle with grace as he gripped the hilt of the lightsaber he'd built on Tatooine.

Predictably, Luke was greeted by patrolling scouttroopers, who had been taught to recognize the Rebel commander who wielded a Jedi lightsaber and had destroyed the first Death Star.

A Jedi Knight was not a pacifist, Luke reminded himself as he deflected fire without breaking stride, he would never seek to harm, but he would defend himself, his comrades and his cause even at the expense of those seeking violence against them.

As the troopers were hit by their own fire, Luke reached the gantry of the generator overlooking the battle. He could sense his friends among the combatants, very close by. Leia in particular was connecting with him through the familial bond created by the living Force, whether consciously or not.

Luke briefly responded to Leia's telepathic signal, then took a breath as he prepared to jump down. Somersaulting among the smoky forest air, Luke landed on his feet on the ground, holding his lightsaber ready for action.

Leia remained alert as Han performed his magic on the control panel of the entrance to the shield generator. Stormtroopers were coming and going, largely occupied by the Rebel soldiers and Ewoks.

"Got it!" Han yelled, placing the wires in the right sockets.

Leia grinned and turned around, but all of the sudden a red laserbolt sent a sharp, burning pain into her arm.

Leia let out a small yell as she fell backwards.

Han took her in his arms, cradling her in a manner of loving care.

"It's not bad," Leia said as the blood trickled from her arm. She winced from the aching, but knew she had to stay resilient.

"Hands up," the harsh vocabulator of a stormtrooper said. Two clicks and a pair of scouts stood trapping Leia and Han against the entryway.

Han and Leia looked lovingly into each other's eyes, both thinking the same thing.

"I love you."

"I know."

"Hands up!"

Just as Han raised his hands, shielding Leia from view as she prepared to fire, both stormtroopers flew against the walls on either side of the generator and fell to the forest floor unconscious.

Leia stood and gasped in amazement as Luke came into view, armed with his Jedi weapon and with the intention of standing by the Rebel Alliance to the end.

"Hey, kid, you made it out okay," Han said as they both rushed to hug their friend.

"Did I miss anything important?" Luke smiled despite everything as he was immersed in the presence of those he valued most.

"We made some furry friends," Leia nodded to the Ewoks engaged in battle with the Imperials using their primitive yet effective warfare tools.

At that moment, the familiar, sickening sound of an ATST walker came marching out of the thickness of the woods into the clearing.

"I got this," Han whispered, deciding to go down for Leia and Luke. He was the leader of the mission after all. Raising his hands with dread, Han Solo came out of the archway into the clearing, facing the walker without visible fear.

The hatch on top of the cockpit popped open, and Han's heart danced as it never had before as Chewbacca emerged and let out a joyful roar.

"Chewie, get down here! Leia's wounded and Luke's back!"

As Chewie was about to climb back in, Han raised his hand as inspiration came knocking.

"No, wait! I got an idea."

Admiral Piett had had considerable practice of hiding his fear in the precense of his commander, Lord Vader. He stood at attention as the caped Sith Lord came marching onto the command bridge of the Super Star Destroyer _Executor,_ his breathing ringing throughout the deck.

"My lord, we are doing our best to keep the Rebel fleet contained," Piett said automatically, wondering why Vader had come here instead of the planet's surface. "The Death Star will remain safe."

"I am not concerned with the battle for the Death Star, Admiral," Vader coldly informed Piett, "I want our entire army and fleet to land on Endor, as many ships and men you can spare. We are going to seize and scorch the entire world."

Piett took a step back, horrified but unsurprised at what Vader was ordering. He had spent years working for the dark lord and his master. "Lord Vader, with all due respect, what of the Emperor. Has he approved of this plan."

Vader raised a threatening hand, having had enough. Piett gulped with open fear now, knowing precisely that meant.

"The wishes of dead men do not concern me, Admiral Piett. Commence with it."

Piett willed the images of scattered, bloodied bodies and burning, crashing trees emitting smoke out of his mind and replied, "Yes, right away, Lord Vader."

So the Emperor had died, as Vader had all but explicitly stated. How, Piett couldn't imagine, either natural causes or an assassination that had somehow succeeded on the Death Star. He told himself it didn't matter, he was still the servant of the Empire.

As Piett activated the _Executor'_ s main comm channel, his worries were replaced by a strange relief. While Vader was very ruthless in his own right, the burden of the wrath of Palpatine that had loomed over Piett and his colleagues was gone if he was truly dead.

Allowing himself a reassuring smile as Vader strode off the command bridge, Piett spoke to all Star Destroyers engaged in combat with the Rebel fleet.

"This is Admiral Piett of the _Executor._ Lord Vader has issued a special order. All Imperial craft must disengage from defense of the Death Star and concentrate all available forces in a ground invasion of Endor. Repeat, disengage all craft and prepare to land for an invasion of Endor."

Imperial officers heard and relayed the command throughout the battle stations.

The results came quickly and conspicuously. Observing from the cockpit of the _Falcon,_ Lando Calrissian said to his copilot Nien Nunb, "Those TIE Fighters are retreating!"

Indeed, they all had broken off from the dogfights and were bound for the green forest moon. The Star Destroyers had also begun to drift away from the seemingly unfinished Death Star towards the far side of Endor.

"They must be trying to lure us away from the Death Star," Admiral Ackbar remarked from the command station of _Home One._

"Stay focused on the Death Star," Lando said into the intercom of the _Millennium Falcon, "_ Look out for its cannons, though. We need to wait until Han's deactivated the generator."

"Copy, Gold Leader," replied the voice of Wedge Antilles as the assorted Rebel Fighters formed a perimeter around the half-completed battle station.

As Threepio, Han and Leia stood back and watched, Luke plunged his green blade into the doorway leading into the shield generator.

As if cutting a loaf of bread, Luke moved his blade across the durasteel door, cutting a plasma circle in the middle.

"I've never appreciated your Jedi magic as much as I do now," Han remarked as the slab of metal came crashing onto the floor.

Luke stepped to the side and hid with the others as the rows of white and black cane charging out of the generator.

The Imperials stopped as they took in the sight of dozens of Rebels and Ewoks, armed with blasters, bows, and slingshots. One by one, the stormtroopers and officers laid down their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.

Han gave them a dramatic gloating shrug and led the strike team into the generator along with the explosive devices.

Knowing what was coming, Luke took his twin sister by the hand and said, "Run!"

They ran from the generator as fast as they could, as did the rebels, Ewoks and Imperials.

Han, Chewie and the other strike team members came bursting out a moment later and took cover into the bushes as the forest was lit by a colorful, powerful explosion that sent scraps of metal and electricity flying across the forest and charring the trees and ferns.

"The shield is down!" Admiral Ackbar crowed, "I repeat, the shield is down!"

"Told you they'd do it!" Lando exclaimed as he clapped Nunb on the shoulder. To the Fighters, he said, "Preparing to enter the Death Star."

Anxiously, Commander Jerjerrod spoke into the Death Star's intercom from the main operation center. "Your majesty. Your majesty, the Rebels have destroyed the shield generator!"

For once, Jerjerrod allowed the panic to show in his voice, the situation more desparate than ever. He was sure the old Emperor would order the destruction of Endor, but the head of the Death Star project wanted to be absolutely sure before he ordered the laser of the grand superweapon on the green world filled with Imperial _s._

 _Why isn't he replying?_ "Your majesty!"

"Commander," a lesser officer approached him from the deck, "commander, the TIE Fighters have left us and are heading towards the Forest moon, and the fleet is nowhere to be seen!"

Disbelieving, Jerjerrod activated the holographic map of the conflict occurring outside. He was horrified at what he saw, and as if on cue, an explosion rang out in the corridors of the Death Star.

"Why have they abandoned us?" Jerjerrod wondered aloud as the room trembled from the impact.

"I'm already on my way out," Wedge was saying as the middle launched from his X Wing and from the _Millennium Falcon._

"Now comes the hard part!" Lando exclaimed and he and Nien Nunb followed him through the trenches towards the exit of the Death Star. All around them, the structure was erupting in an inferno.

"Move the fleet away from the Death Star!" Ackbar said to the Rebel cruisers as the officers around him cheered, unable to maintain military discipline at this great victory.

"Yeeehooooo!" Lando whooped as the _Millennium Falcon_ sped to safety away from the engulfing explosion consuming the entire Death Star.

As the Ewoks cheered and began to march and dance around the enchanted forest, Luke, Han and Leia merely enjoyed the company of one another and made the most of being alive as they gazed up at the fiery explosion that lit the sky gold.

"Hey," Han said, "Vader wasn't on that thing when it blew, was he?"

Luke grimaced, the sweetness of their victory all too short. "He wasn't. I could feel it."

"One can only hope, right?"

At that, Luke hid his scowl, but then felt a terrible tremor in the Force as several loud TIE Fighter engines roared over the Forest moon as the shape of the _Executor_ emerged from the obscurity of the clouds.

"Look!" Leia pointed up in horror as the sky was filled with Imperial craft.

"It was too good to be true," Han moaned as the Rebels trained their weapons on the incoming fighters.

"It's not over yet," Luke said as the TIE fighters shot down at the trees below them.

Bombers appeared in the sky as well as the Rebels futility opened fire on the ships above.

"Take cover," Leia urges as the blasts grew closer and the tree trunks caught fire as they were hit by the lasers of the TIE Fighters.

The trio ran through the crowd of Rebels who had begun to flee from the onslaught surrounding them.

Amid the swarming fighters and bombers, a lone sleek shuttle was descending into the clearing that contained the smoldering remains of the shield generator.

Luke looked back as he and his friends fled through the shrubbery, sensing that dark presence. Leia squeezed his arm, feeling the same thing. Though unwilling to acknowledge it, Leia's sensitivity to the presence of the Empire's chief enforcer had grown since she'd learned the truth about their relation.

"Let's keep going!" Han waved them forth as a figure became visible among the smoke around the shuttle and ruined generator.

Luke watched sickly as a red jet of light became visible through the fog and ashes. The red blade was the same color as the fire spreading through Endor's forest.

"You two keep going, I'll deal with him," Luke told his friends as he stood at the ready. He knew Vader could tell where he was and waited as the towering figure slowly approached as he batted aside fire from the Rebels.

"We stick together to the end," Han asserted, pointing his pistol in the direction of Vader.

"We're not letting you out of our sight again," Leia added as the mechanical breathing grew louder.

Darth Vader's lightsaber pointed vertically in front of him as he approached the trio. Standing in an opening postion, he spoke to Luke and the others as they kept their eyes on him.

"You Rebels may have destroyed the Death Star, but you have lost the battle."

"Not yet, iron face!" Han pumped the trigger of his blaster with his finger, sending a volley of fire at the Dark Lord.

Vader stopped the shots in midair and waved them aside so they struck the nearest tree stump.

"You never learn, Solo."

Luke stepped towards his father, lightsaber at the ready.

"Leave them out of this, Father. This is between you and me."

"Remember what you told me on the Death Star? About Princess Leia?"

A look of horror on her face, Leia glanced between her brother and father as she realized that Vader knew.

Knowing it was pointless, Leia aimed a shot at Vader's helmet and screamed as her blaster was yanked from her hand and flew into the abyss of the forest?

Luke pointed his weapon at Vader's chest, but the Sith Lord raised and clenched a gloved hand. Behind Luke, Han lifted into the air, grabbing at his neck as his face began to lose color.

"Han!" Leia exclaimed in terror.

"It's best if you Three surrender now," Vader told them, "to save us the drama later."


	3. Let Might Make Right

The Emperor's personal Star Destroyer _Eclipse,_ as well as the _Ravager,_ hovered over the capital world of Coruscant. Vader knew this planet more than most, as he had lived on it for four-fifths of his life, both as a Jedi and a Sith.

In his private meditation chamber, Vader sent out a communication to Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax, who stood aboard the _Ravager_ overseeing the security of Coruscant.

"Lord Vader," The hologram of Rax spoke solemnly as he addressed the dark lord. "You've returned with the fleet from Endor. Have the Rebel forces been defeated?"

Vader wondered then whether he owed the truth to Rax. He had been one of Palpatine's most trusted advisors and military leaders, yet now Palpatine's rule was over. It mattered not where Rax had stood in the old Empire.

"Our objectives on Endor have been realized," replied Vader, "I need access to Coruscant immediately."

Fleet Admiral Rax did not immediately reply, but seemed preoccupied in his own thoughts. As Vader's patience ebbed, Rax finally spoke.

"Where is Emperor Palpatine? Is he still on the Death Star?"

"I have valuable prisoners to the Rebellion, including the Jedi Skywalker," Vader snarled, just about ready to strangle the Fleet Admiral across the distance between them, "What is left of the Rebellion will crumble without them. Now, Gallius Rax, you will allow my ship access into Coruscant."

"I will speak with the Emperor first," Rax replied. Before Vader could raise a hand to choke him, the hologram of Rax disappeared.

As Rax began to patch a signal long distance, the holoprojector in his private office blinked.

He flipped the switch to reveal the hologram of Admiral Rae Sloane of the _Ultimatum._

Admiral Sloane, this is perfect. I trust things are well on Endor?"

Sloane frowned as she regarded the superior officer.

"I'm afraid the Death Star's gone, the _Millennium Falcon_ took it out. Lord Vader's men burned the forest down afterwards."

Rax cringed. So the Emperor's prediction had come true. It was time for Operation Cinder to begin. Rax had been dreading this part, but he'd known since before the Empire's installation that it was inevitable. For all his power and confidence, Palpatine had to die eventually. And he had entrusted with Rax his plans for the galaxy after his death. Complete extermination of any kind of society.

"And the Emperor?"

Sloane did not seem particularly bothered by the turn of events, maintaining her classic composure as she responded. "He's dead. We don't know exactly how, but it happened before the Rebels blew up our battle station."

Rax now saw no way out. "So Vader lied to me. He told me the battle was won."

"I've gathered the rest of the fleet on Akvia in the Outer Rim," Sloane replied with no visible emotion. "I'm in the middle of arranging a summit to determine the Empire's next course of action."

"Forget the summit, I need any available officers back on Coruscant!" Rax exclaimed, "This isn't how it's supposed to go, Vader's ruining it all! We need to stage a coup against him before we can worry about the war."

Things may have been messed up, Rax decided, but a new window had opened. The battle that would ensue between Vader and the Imperial leaders would eliminate perhaps every obstacle to

the Contingency's execution.

"We are coming to Coruscant immediately," Sloane replied, "Once Vader's gone, what's next?"

Rax turned away from the hologram, deciding the time was not ripe to reveal his ultimate scheme to her. "We shall determine that once our current mission is complete."

Lord Vader anxiously waited aboard the _Executor_ as the image of Gallius Rax returned. "Lord Vader, you are granted access to the capital along with your Rebel prisoners."

Vader did not reply, but stood and strode out of his chamber, not even wondering what Rax was up to.

All three of Vader's valuable prisoners were bound tightly by the wrists and loosely tied at the ankles. Accompanied by nine stormtroopers, Luke, Leia and Han were marched from the holding cells towards the main hangar where Vader's shuttle was waiting.

"I hope he kills us quickly," Han muttered to the other two, "instead of drawing it out and torturing us like he did to me on Cloud City."

"He doesn't want us dead," Luke replied, "Trust me."

"Anything's better than being his hostage to be bartered with," Leia said grimly as they reached the assembly of Imperial shuttles, fighters and crew members, "I'd rather be dead."

Though Luke maintained an aura of calm and confidence, he was screaming in desparation on the inside. _Oh Ben, Yoda, if there was ever a time I needed your help, this is it._ But both his mentors were gone and unable to help him.

There was Vader, coming down the staircase that led from the hangar towards the overlooking balcony. The heart of the Empire was below them, the old metropolis of Coruscant.

"The last of the Jedi are in my hands," Vader said as he approached the prisoners, "Soon, both my children will learn the ways of the dark side and forget the ideals of the past."

Leia glared at the masked villain and spat at him. "You haven't defeated the Rebellion, Vader. Even if you kill us, you'll never manage to extinguish hope the galaxy."

Vader looked directly at his daughter, almost hurt at what she had said. "You still think I intend to kill you. No, I will train you both to rule alongside me and bring order at last."

"We'll die before we submit to you, Vader!"

Vader glanced at both his children, then gestures to Han. "Don't forget that the smuggler has no Force potential, and that the only reason he is alive is his connection to you. I'm sure his safety is reason enough to submit."

Luke noticed at that moment that along with Vader's lightsaber, his own confiscated weapon was clipped to the Sith Lord's belt.

Leia gazed painstakingly at Han, who was again reaching for his throat expecting those fatal talons to wrap around it.

The troopers jabbed the Rebel prisoners in the backs, and reluctantly they started onto the ramp leading into Vader's private shuttle. The white stormtroopers followed with the ominous Vader in the rear.

The Rebel fleet had scattered after Endor and was presently regrouped in orbit of the salt mine planet of Crait. The leadership met in the council chamber of _Home One,_ Mon Mothma's announcement was being broadcasted live via holoconference to the other Rebel cruisers that were docked in orbit of the red and white surfaced world.

"Rebel Alliance, the results of the battle of Endor were very mixed. General Solo and his strike team were successful in destroying the shield generator allowing the fleet to deliver a fatal blow to the Death Star." Mothma's solemnity and cold demeanor masked her deep internal grief and worry.

"But sadly, we suffered heavy blows on Endor, and the forests and Ewok populations took losses as well. Three of our greatest, Commander Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, and General Han Solo have been captured by Darth Vader and taken to the capital of Coruscant. Although Emperor Palpatine is dead, we must expect an equally iron fist from Lord Vader and be aware that the fight is far from over. That is all."

Mothma terminated the broadcast and turned to the elite officers at her side, human General Madine and Mon Calamari Admiral Ackbar.

Meanwhile, Chewbacca was howling loudly while Lando Calrissian paced the command bridge worriedly.

"Don't worry Chewie, I'm sure they're still alive," Lando muttered as he stroked the Wookiee's fur. He was trying to convince himself as much as Chewbacca.

"Oh, Artoo, this is all my fault," Threepio said to his recently repaired counterpart, "I should have let him take me instead!"

As Artoo whistled a reply, Lando tapped the Commander in Chief Mothma on the shoulder and said, "Senator, we have to do something! Lord Vader's sure to use them as hostages to bring us to his mercy!"

Mothma looked very grim and mournful as she gazed out the window into space. "No," she replied, shaking her head, "I don't think that's what he wants to do with them."

"General Calrissian," Madine weighed in, "With all due respect, we don't know for sure that they are still ali..."

"Chewie, NO!"

Chewbacca has lunged for Madine, enraged by even the vague suggestion, and it was all Lando could do to stand in between them and hold the Wookiee back.

"Chewie, they're not dead! Remember, Vader wanted Luke on Cloud City and on Endor. Why would he just kill him now!"

This wasn't enough. Mothma and Ackbar stood back cautiously as Madine retreated backwards from the Wookiee, glaring angrily.

"Chewie, Vader obviously wants Luke for something! Do you see Luke cooperating if he kills Han and Leia?"

Chewie's roars softened at this and gradually, his struggling decreased as he stood still. He let out a sheepish, embarrassed growl as he backed away from Crix Madine.

"My apologies, General, Senator Mothma," Lando said.

Mothma waved her hand in dismissal, more important matters at stake.

"As much as I want to rescue such important figures to the Rebellion, we can't afford to take any risks that would bring our entire cause into danger. The three of them would know that better than anyone."

In his logical mind, Lando knew that the veteran politician was absolutely right. The entire Rebellion, already at a severe disadvantage, had no business storming the heavily armed and guarded enemy capital for the purpose of rescuing three people.

But Lando's logical mind was irrelevant. He was growing desparate as he tried to appeal to the supreme Rebel Leader.

"Senator, let me assemble a team, just Wedge and all the guys from Rogue Squadron. None of you have to go with us, you can remain here while we launch our mission. I wouldn't want to jeapordize our entire fleet, but we can't let them stay in Imperial custody, we couldn't have blown up the Death Star without them!"

Mon Mothma looked away as she struggled to reach a conclusion. She could not deny her emotional attachments, especially to the princess, but she was the leader of the entire Rebel Alliance, not just some of it. At last, she turned back to the eager, cape-donning general and his Wookiee companion.

"You may launch a rescue attempt along with a strike team, you have our blessing. However, I'm sorry, General, but the fleet can not afford to endanger itself at the heart of the Empire."

Lando bowed his head humbly. "I understand, Senator. Thank you for your approval." In truth, if Mothma had denied his request, Lando would have gone with Chewie anyway, for Han's sake as well as Luke and Leia's. Yet her blessing gave him a morale boost if only just by a whisker.

"I hope you are aware, General Calrissian, of the extreme dangers of attempting a stealth mission on Coruscant. Penetrating the Imperial capital is perhaps the most deadly task anyone can undertake. It may be suicide unless you are very careful and lucky." Mothma spoke very bluntly, having no other choice, yet maintained a gentle tone.

Lando has known this from the start, but he owed them all. He felt responsible for their capture, having failed to take out Vader on the Death Star before he'd escaped it.

"I am prepared for anything the Empire throws at me, Senator."

He looked tentatively to Chewbacca, who gave an affirmative roar.

"Very well, I think you should gather your team and leave immediately, no time to waste."

"You got it, Senator. Artoo, Threepio, come on."

Lando beckoned to the droids as he and Chewbacca departed for the hangar.

Artoo gave a whistle of approval, while Threepio said, "Oh, why do I always get dragged along on these things?"

The Emperor's majestic palace was built in the center of what was now known as Imperial City. Coruscant's city air traffic was now very thin, save TIE Fighters and stormtrooper-carrying gunships to enforce the local laws of the capital. Thus, a clear path was easily made for the class A shuttle bound for the landing platform perched on the highest levels of the Imperial palace

The palace itself was guarded by several deadly drones programmed to recognize and attack an enemy on sight. A legion of elite shocktroopers patrolled and stood at attention at the perimeter of the Imperial palace.

On the landing platform that formed a walkway into the castle, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda stood waiting, as well as five elite shocktroopers, four red guards and a medical droid.

As soon as the shuttle touched down, Lord Vader emerged, followed by nine of his 501st Legion troopers and three prisoners whose names were infamous among the top Imperial leaders.

"Lord Vader, you've returned," Amedda said as he peered curiously past the caped threateningly silent Dark Lord, "You've captured Skywalker, and the Princess and Solo."

"Do not waste my time stating the obvious, Amedda. These prisoners must be kept in our most secure prison cells. The old Emperor has died and I have come to take his place. Effective immediately, you are relieved of your duties as Grand Vizier."

This was far too much to take in. Amedda stepped back in horror, sputtering, "But...Lord Vader..."

"Leave immediately, Amedda, before I have you executed."

Amedda gasped and struggled to get the words past his throat, then, seeing no other choice, took off running out of sight into the entryway of the palace.

While this was happening, Luke scanned the city planet and took in the sight of the headquarters of the Empire he'd spent his life hating, had dedicated his very existence to defeating. The Empire that had built both Death Stars and destroyed Alderaan, that had tortured countless innocents including himself and his friends, had burned down the forest of Endor, this was where it had begun.

Being present in the metropolis where the Empire has been born made his hate for it grow. Once, this may well have been a beautiful city, prospering with civilian activity and freedom in the democratic Republic that protected its citizens.

Now, there was only the Empire and the Sith Lords who ruled it. The Empire that only stole from its people and enslaved every being to the will of one man. Luke hated the Empire more than he ever had, even when he'd seen the burnt carcasses of his aunt and uncle in front of the burning homestead.

"Guards, take them into the prison," Vader ordered, "I must make a statement on the Holonet."

"Yes Lord Vader."

The three of them were helplessly marched along, into the corridors and away from the daylight. Luke was lost in his own thoughts as he was nudged deeper into the rancor's belly, into the dark, twisted passageways and corridors, past every aristocrat after bureaucrat, thug after soldier, hit man after assassin, until they reached the prison below.

"I hate being so powerless," Han whispered desparately to Leia, nearly in tears, "I hate that there's nothing we can do."

"We have no choice but to trust in the Force, and in our friends," Leia replied. Now that she knew about the powers she had, she found herself turning to the Force more than ever, hoping it would guide them to a safe way out, and more importantly, a Rebel victory.

 _"Citizens of Coruscant and all across the galaxy listening to the Holonet. Many of you do not know me, but I am Darth Vader, the old Emperor's chief enforcer and military commander. I must report that your dear leader has died, and I have no choice but to step up in his place._

 _The war against the traitorous rebellion is far from over. Under my leadership, we will crush those Rebels far more effectively than Palpatine was ever capable. I shall guide you in a firm, strong effort to bring an end to this war and make sure those traitors do not break our Imperial spirit."_

The _Millennium Falcon_ streaked across hyperspace, followed by the entirety of Rogue Squadron.

"You still with us, Rogue Leader?"

"We're right behind you, Gold Leader," Wedge replied, "We'll do our best for Han, Luke and the Princess. Us Rebels, we're alone as it is. We can't afford to leave each other behind."

Elsewhere, the _Ultimatum_ was bound for Coruscant, to regroup with the rest of the Imperial fleet in a coup against Darth Vader.

Grand Admiral Sloane gazed ahead into hyperspace off the command bridge, ready and anxious to claim the new Empire, her empire.


	4. Chaos in the Empire

The Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center had been merged into the Imperial palace, however its cells remained very much intact. Prisoners such as Cad Bane, Ziro the Hutt and Barriss Offee has been held there, the last of whom had been executed by the guards during Order 66.

The trio were kept in separate yet adjacent cells. Han and Leia were both able to walk, or rather crawl, in their respective cells, however, Luke was tied by Force-proof bindercuffs at the ankle and his wrists were still tied together.

Han had given up trying to pound his way out, and Luke was deep in meditation as he sat trapped against the wall opposite the lasersealed exit to his cell. Leia simply remained lost in her own thoughts, reflecting on her long career in politics and the Rebellion.

Of the three, she had been to Coruscant, several times in fact. She had been introduced by her adoptive...no, her real father, Senator Bail Organa... to the Emperor and had first served as Bail's aide before becoming Senator of Alderaan in his place as well as Princess.

She was sickened at the memory of his ugly, wrinkled hand as he'd reached to touch her face, Darth Vader looming at his side. She'd never liked the corrupt bureaucracy of the Empire that allowed suffering of trillions of beings while pledging loyalty to the man who had singlehandedly dismantled the democratic system of the past.

Leia has risked her life from an early age, going on relief missions and secret meetings in dissent of the Empire. Her father had always worried for her, but he'd always known that Leia would have to be exposed eventually to the evils of the galaxy. Leia didn't know what the future held for them now, but she now had much more personal ideals at stake in the form of the man in the next cell.

"Leia, can you hear me?" It was Han's desparate, exhausted voice.

"Han, it's me."

"I hope Chewie and the droids made it okay."

"They're sure to be back with the fleet by now," Leia replied, having no way to be sure but relying entirely on hope. Hope that gotten them that far, why stop here?

"I love you, I loved you from the day we met. If we don't make it..."

"Han, we'll make it," Leia promised. It wasn't an empty promise either, although the future was unclear, Leia's faith in her friends and her brother were clearer than the rivers of Alderaan.

Luke could faintly hear his sister and best friend, but his focus was on the deepest, most remote regions of the living Force where he attempted to reach.

 _Ben, I need you. I failed the Rebellion, I failed the Jedi, I'm sorry. You were right._

Silence. Luke could barely refrain from lashing out in frustration, the situation bringing him to rock bottom. Ben had warned him that Vader could not be redeemed, but Luke had made it his mission to bring out the Jedi in his father. He may not have seen it until later, but in hindsight Luke could recognize Vader's misgivings about the order he had long become a slave too.

It hadn't just been political motivations that had led Vader to make his offer to Luke. No, Luke could tell that even then, Vader had craved the family he'd been denied for so many years by the Emperor.

Now, however, it was uncertain. Luke's heart filled with dread as that breathing filled the prison corridor and the sound of marching filled his ears until the door to his cell slid open to reveal Vader and two 501st Legion troopers.

Luke stared defiantly at his father, the conflict in Vader replaced by a menacing control.

"Today you begin your training in the dark side, young Luke."

"You can try to turn me, but you'll never succeed. You may as well kill me instead."

Vader raised his hand and grabbed Luke in the Force. The boy found himself lifting off the metal floor as his bindercuffs were snapped off of his ankles and wrists and clattered to the cell floor.

"I have not ruled out that option, my son. Let us go."

And Luke found himself helplessly floating along as Vader dragged him out of the cell and walked through the corridor towards the prison exit.

As he passed the cells containing Han and Leia, Luke reached out to them in the Force to assure them that it everything would be all right.

A set of red guards stood on either side of Vader's throne. The throne room was built in the bowels of the castle, dim and with no windows.

Setting Luke on the floor, Vader strode over to his new throne and sat down, facing Luke as the boy climbed up to his feet. Vader unclipped Luke's lightsaber from his belt and tossed it towards Luke.

It landed on the floor at the young man's feet. Luke hesitated to pick it up, sensing a possible trap.

"I can feel your desperation, son," Darth Vader said as Luke glanced back and forth between the dark figure on the throne and the weapon on the floor, "You want to give in. You know the dark side calls to you. You do not have to be bound to the narrow view of the Jedi."

Luke gazed at the guards beside Vader, then at the stormtroopers at the entrance. He had nearly failed before, when the Emperor had taunted him on the Death Star. Was he going to fall under the sway of his own father?

Then, Luke was struck by a feeling. His Jedi calm and awareness allowed him to detect what was coming while in his powerful, ego boosted state, Vader did not.

"You're in danger, Father. I can feel it. You're not safe here."

"There is no danger that can come to me," the new ruler replied, "I am a Sith Lord and soon you will be as well."

"Search your feelings, father, and you'll feel it. They're going to kill you." Luke was very serious as he tried to reach out to the man he hated and loved. He knew nothing except that Vader was in serious danger.

Vader rose from his seat of power, shaking a gloved fist. "Your trickery will not save you, Jedi Skywalker. You are helpless as are your friends!"

Luke reached out to Leia again in the Force. She was tired and, like him, angry, but she was as resilient as ever.

"You won't harm your own children, you couldn't before."

Vader raised his hand and Luke out of nowhere felt his throat beginning to close.

He reached for his throat as the air began to leave him, finally on the receiving end of one of Vader's Force chokes.

"As long as Captain Solo is in my custody, you have no choice but to bend to my will!" Vader snarled, determined not to be swayed by his son's persuasion.

Luke gasped for breath as his muscles weakened, unable to reach for his lightsaber. "Father..."

"Guards!" Vader addressed the elite stormtroopers at the entrance to his throne room, "Fetch me Princess Leia and Captain Han Solo!"

"Yes, my lord," the two armored men departed the throne room, leaving Luke, Vader and the motionless guards.

At last, Vader released his son and Luke came crashing hard on the floor, rubbing his throat and trying to consume as much air as possible.

"My patience is running out, son," Vader said, striding across the length of his throne room, his cape trailing behind him, "You have been long indoctrinated by Jedi fables. Perhaps you are not so useful after all."

"Lord Vader," the stormtroopers came back in, this time however, Han and Leia were there.

Upon seeing her brother, Leia shouted, "Luke!" and started to run to him.

Luke began to rise, however, Vader extended his Force hold to Leia and caught her, pulling the struggling princess to him.

"Leia!" Han charged forward, but stopped in his tracks as he began gasping for breath and dropped to his knees.

"Han!" Leia turned towards her choking lover, then back to the masked enemy. "Let him go!"

"You see now, your Highness, you are totally at my mercy. If you want the captain to live, you will obey me."

At last, the invisible stranglehold on Han vanished and he was a sweating, gasping mess.

Leia rushed to him, as did Luke, however Vader held both of them back, creating an invisible field cutting his two children off from their friend.

"Your feelings are powerful," Vader said to Luke and Leia, "Use your hate! Unleash your feelings of aggression!"

Losing his mind and his patience, Luke screamed and reached towards Vader with both hands, concentrating on both his father's lightsaber clipped to his belt as well as his own confiscated weapon.

Before the senior Skywalker was aware, both lightsaber hilts shines through the space between them as Luke caught them both and ignited the blades of green and red.

The young Jedi ran at Lord Vader, preparing to strike with both sabers. Vader pivoted and sent a Force push at Luke.

Luke screamed as he tumbled backwards, losing his grip on both lightsabers. The green blade landed at Leia's feet as Luke was knocked onto his back, stunned by the fall and too weak to recover immediately.

Leia glowered at her father as Vader summoned his own weapon back into his hand.

"Pick it up," the Sith Lord said simply to his daughter.

"I can't believe Luke thought there was anything in you. You're just a monster."

"I can feel you tapping into your great potential, young Leia," her father replied, "Strike at me with the power of the dark side."

To prod her, Vader reached towards Han and began to Force-choke him again.

"Leia..." Han gasped, his face a dark shade of crimson. He was totally helpless.

With a yell, Leia picked up Luke's dropped lightsaber and ran at the towering figure before her.

Vader's guards began to advance, but he waved them back as he clashed his red blade against the green lightsaber coming towards him.

"Leia, no!" Han yelled as she became a thing of sheer fury, having no training with a lightsaber but feeling one with the Force like never before, channeling her grief and rage all at once.

From the command bridge of the _Ravager,_ Fleet Admiral Rax awaited eagerly as the armada came out of lightspeed in orbit of Coruscant.

To the deck officers below, Rax shouted, "Prepare a transmission to Admiral Sloane!"

"Yes, sir."

Within a single minute, the tall holographic figure of Sloane appeared.

"We're ready to attack, and we have Vader cornered," Sloane reported to her superior.

"Perfect," Rax replied, "I have good news for you, Admiral Sloane. As the Counselor of the Empire, I am promoting you to the rank of Grand Admiral."

"Promoting me?" Sloane's first thought was of the rank of Grand Admiral but then immediately realized the deeper, less obvious implications of what Rax was saying. "What do you mean, Counselor of the Empire?"

"Well, Grand Admiral, the Empire was built on social hierarchy, and we must maintain such a founding concept. We need a sovereign body of rule once Vader is gone."

Sloane looked away from the hologram of Rax and quickly pondered what this meant for her and the Empire. She would never side against the Empire that she had long trained for and served in battle on behalf of. However, she realized that Rax was going to be no different from Palpatine, that he was going to usurp the throne himself and continue the old ideology of fear. For now, she decided, the smart thing was to play along.

"I humbly accept the rank, Counselor," Sloane replied to the hologram of Gallius Rax.

"I'm glad you do. Let's get on with it," Rax said with a smile "Today, we take back our Empire."

As the hologram of Sloane disappeared, Rax tapped his foot to the captains seated at their stations below him and said, "Prepare to aim our maximum firepower at the Imperial palace."

The nearest captain turned hesitantly to Rax. "With respect, Fleet Admiral, we could risk leveling a large chunk of the plaza with it."

"Any number of casualties is well worth the cost," Rax impatiently replied, "We need to make sure Vader is dead and unprepared."

The strength of Leia's attack admittedly caught Vader by surprise, largely due to her inexperience.

The tall, caped lord stumbled backwards, then brought his lightsaber backwards to rebuke hard and fast.

Leia's grasp on the saber slipped up, and with his own frustration, Vader launched a kick into her stomach.

"Aaahhhh!" Leia cried out as the obsidian boot struck her and she fell. The lightsaber rolled out of her hand, the activated blade cutting deep into the throne room floor.

"Leia!" Han yelled, but he was whacked by the rifle of a 501st Legion trooper.

Luke reached for his lightsaber, grabbing it before Vader could summon it to him. The time he'd spent breathless and stunned had given him time to retain his senses and better judgement.

With a new, fresh wave of calm, Luke switched off his lightsaber and boldly stood facing his father, who loomed over Leia with his saber ignited.

"Enough," panted Luke, "Father, back away from her."

"You can't reason with... owww!" Han was again gut with the blaster and remained on his knees.

"You are undisciplined, my children," Vader told them sternly, "I am beginning to tire of your resistance to my teachings."

"We won't fight you anymore," Luke declared as Leia looked at him incredulously, "Let's see if you can for once make good on your threats."

"Luke, hasn't he proven that he's willing to kill us all?" Leia asked her brother, silently begging him not to lose his guard.

"Never mind that now," Luke glared straight into the black mask, into Vader's unseen eyes, "Father, I can still sense the danger you are in. All of us."

Vader twisted the red beam in his hand to point at his son's chest. "The only danger you are in is from me. Your Jedi trickery will not seduce me."

Luke stepped towards the malevolent precense before them, knowingly gambling his life for all of their safety. "Father, don't you sense it? We are not your real enemy. We all need to get out of here before..."

He sensed it just before it happened. Luke immediately raised his hand before the massive laser hit the north wing, hoping to use the Forceto somehow save them from the pending catastrophe.

For a moment, Luke could only see, but not hear, the explosion engulfing his surroundings, as he suspended the entire realm of existence in the air.

Then everything went dark as his senses left him and the explosion rocked his world.


	5. Inferno over Coruscant

The _Millennium Falcon_ glided gracefully through the intense smoke and ashes emitting into Coruscant's metropolitan ecosystem from the blasted, burning Imperial palace.

Scanning the distant structure using the freighter's advanced night vision technology, Lando could detect several life forms trapped within the crumbling walls.

"They've got to be in there somewhere," the general said to his Wookiee copilot, "We can't give up until we've found them."

Chewbacca indicated his agreement while over the radio, Wedge Antilles said, "Hey Gold Leader, we have a little problem behind us."

"More than a little problem," Lando corrected Wedge as he saw in the rearview an array of TIR Fighters emerging from the massive fleet above them, firing in the direction of the X Wing Fighters hovering around the wreckage of Vader's palace.

"Chewie, man the back lasers!" Lando yelled as he turned the _Falcon_ around to face the incoming enemy.

Chewie got up from the copilot's seat and with a roar climbed out of the cockpit to open fire.

The dogfight began immediately, Rebel and Imperial Fighters exchanging fire, only now the Rebels were more outnumbered than they'd ever been, in the enemy capital and with very limited ships available to match the firepower of the Empire.

"I've got a bad feeling about this!" Lando said as he blasted at an incoming fighter. The smoke continued to rise as a shuttle appeared among the crossfire.

"Looks like we got some company," the Imperial pilot remarked inside the cockpit.

"Never mind them," Gallius Rax replied, "We need to locate Vader's body."

Luke began coughing as soon as he awoke. His head felt numb as his joints and limbs returned to their senses. He dared to sit up as he looked around to find broken walls and cracked floor in what had been the Emperor's throne room.

Smoke filled the halls and chambers of the palace as the sound of laserfire rang out overhead.

Luke realized that a battle must have been taking place, but at the moment, none of that mattered. What mattered was his friends.

The young Jedi took a deep breath, hesitating. Then he decided it was well worth the risk.

"Leia!" He spoke aloud, "Han!"

Luke got to his feet as he felt for his twin sister in the Force, stumbling across the wreckage as he became more oriented. He reached out to feel her presence, ensure that she had made it out all right.

To his immense relief, Luke sensed Leia very close by, and Han by extension. Using his connection to his friends, Luke began to navigate his way through the palace near blind from the ashes but seeing as clearly as he ever could by using the Force.

Briefly, Luke stopped at the sight of a charred stormtrooper helmet, lying on the hot, burnt floor. He cringed and kept moving.

 _Leia. Han._

He gazed into the wreckage of collapsed metal, silently crying for Leia. Then, a signal from nearby transmitted telepathically into his mind.

 _Luke._

Luke raised a hand, focusing on the rubble that was trapping his friends.

 _Size matters not,_ the words of the late Master Yoda rang out in Luke's brain, _Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter._

And Luke's feelings for his friends and determination to save them far outweighed the physical challenge before him. It was all within his heart.

And so as Luke applied his skills in the Force, the smoking rubble, all at once, lifted off of the burnt floor, until through the fog, the image of Leia lying over the wounded Han was revealed.

Luke brought the wreckage from the ceiling above them to the side, then set it down behind him as he strode over to them.

"Luke!" Leia cried as she stood, "He needs help!"

Luke ducked under the groaning Han's arm and he and Leia pulled the smuggler to his feet and began to drag him through the smoke. Han's face was bloody and his chest was badly scratched.

Looking over to the side, Han managed to say, "We're lucky to be alive..."

"We have to get out of here now, before we get found," Leia declared, strongly holding up the weight of the man she loved.

Luke hesitated before he spoke, knowing that this would not go over well. While he cared greatly for his friends and knew that Han needed medical attention, his circle of friends and family had inevitably grown to include the man he feared, loved and reviled all at once.

"We need to find Vader, he's in danger here," Luke said as they dragged the limping Han through the toxic air.

"Are you out of your mind?" Leia exclaimed, "That was _thing_ was good and ready to kill us as usual and you still want to save him?"

"Give it up, kid," Han murmured, struggling to breathe.

"They're going to kill him if they find him," Luke replied firmly, "I know he's still alive." He stopped and gazed off to the side, realizing he'd forgotten something very important.

"Where's my lightsaber?"

While supporting Han on his right side, Luke reached out with the Force using his left hand and sensed his weapon lying underneath the debris from the explosion.

As if appearing out of the smoggy air, the shining cylinder weapon came floating into his hand. Luke shuffled it into his belt as he reached out to sense the presence of Darth Vader.

They were not alone amid the remains of the Imperial palace, Luke knew that much. Where they could find a transport, he could not determine at the moment but he knew that his father was in serious mortal danger.

At long last, Luke spotted a black figure lying in what had been an archway, limbs sprawled and cape partially torn. Luke was horrified at what he saw above Vader's chestplate; it was the face of his father, the face of the Rebellion's longstanding enemy, the face of the man who had for years hunted down and destroyed the Jedi as well as anyone who dared speak up against the Empire.

He was a bald man, with a badly scarred, burned scalp and face. While his respirators remained, his helmet had been ripped off by the blast, and his life functions were low, but operational.

"Take him," Luke said to Leia as he gently let go of Han, leaving Leia to wrap both arms around his body. The young Jedi rushed over to the unconscious Sith Lord, whose breathing was very feint, almost nonexistent.

"Luke, we can't waste any time!" Leia insisted, appalled at her brother's determination to salvage what was left of that creature, "He isn't worth it."

"He's your father too, Leia," Luke said back as he knelt down beside the badly injured Vader, "He's the only other family we have left."

"Luke, my family was on Alderaan!" Leia snapped at him, losing her patience, "My family is with the rebellion! My family is Han, and Han needs help! You can't possibly care more about that monster more than..."

Before Luke could come up with a proper reply, s voice from beyond the cinders and ashes spoke up.

"Well then, why don't you just leave him to us."

Leia gasped and nearly dropped Han as Luke gazed up to see a high ranking officer emerging from the smoke, accompanied by more than a dozen special forces troopers, armed with heavy weaponry.

"Gallius Rax," Leia muttered to Han as the former smuggler struggled to stand on his own two feet.

"You're the Rebel prisoners that came with Vader," Rax realized as the Imperials surrounded them, "I see the old Sith Lord didn't do a good job of disposing of the Empire's enemies as is his duty."

Luke faced the Emperor's trustee as he held up his inactivated lightsaber, peaceful yet sending out a warning. "Stand down, and no one has to get hurt. We just want to take Lord Vader out of here."

Rax aimed his own assault rifle at the fallen, broken form of the former Jedi Anakin Skywalker. "Oh, but is he not your greatest threat? Why don't you allow us to remove him for you?"

"I said stand down, or fight. You don't want to make more of an enemy of us than you need to." Luke assumed a harsher tone as he stood over Vader, knowing that the drawn out encounter was putting all of them in more harm.

The black armored troopers shifted their weapons so that they faced Luke, Leia and Han. Rax himself however, kept the nozzle of his rifle pointed directly at Vader's exposed forehead.

Luke could tell what was coming and there was no further time to waste.

Just as Rax shouted, "Now!", Luke brought his lightsaber forward, jabbing it into the Counselor's torso.

As Rax dropped his large, clunking weapon, his mouth gaped in shock and pain. Luke did not pause to think about the deed he'd committed, but proceeded to deflect the heavy ammunition streaking towards the defenseless Han and Leia.

Landing in front of them on his feet, Luke batted each bolt back at its source and the special forces each fell dead with their leader after they were hit. It had become second nature to Luke.

Once the danger had abated, Luke raced back to Vader's side and, summoning more strength than his physical body possessed, ducked under the limp body and hoisted the massive Sith Lord over his shoulders.

"I don't understand you sometimes," Leia said in half disgust, half exasperation as she helped Han regain his balance. To the pilot of the _Millennium Falcon,_ she asked, "Do you think you can walk?"

"Yeah, I can make it a bit," Han replied.

Luke's back strained as he carried Vader through the ruins, but his determination won in the end. Han and Leia realized it was pointless to argue the issue with Luke any further, he would not give up on the man who had ruined their lives and the lives of trillions of others, quadrillions even.

"There's got to be a shuttle or transport somewhere," Luke said as they began to make their way out into the plaza. It was even more chaotic than the palace interior had been.

Men, women and children were running and screaming as laser bolts from X Wings and TIE Fighters above fired at each other. Stormtroopers tried to keep order while at the same time shooting up at any ships in sight. The Imperial capital was descending into anarchy.

"Looks like we've got some help," Leia remarked as she saw the X Wings overhead.

"Wait, is that..." Han began as he saw a round freighter swerving through the volleys of ships and laserfire, with moves that only one vessel was capable of.

"I never thought I'd see the old girl again!" Han crowed, feeling much better just at the sight of the _Millennium Falcon._

From above, Chewbacca came bursting back up into the cockpit, howling frantically.

"Yeah, I know, I saw them," Lando replied, "Let me just get these fighters off our tail..."

He was smiling, relieved at the unlikely miracle of all three of them making it out alive. But wait, what was that big black thing Luke had slung over his shoulders?

"Gold Leader, we got Green Group and Blue Group over here to help us," Wedge reported as a volley of Y Wing, A Wing and B Wing Fighters came out from the polluted sky into the battle.

"Guess they must have heard about the palace," Lando remarked as he flew low, straight for the awaiting trio on the street, "Let's get them out of here before things get too serious."

"I'm hit!" Wedge shouted as a TIE Fighter hit his upper right wing.

"Hang on there, buddy," Lando said, startled, "let me just... Wedge!"

The unique X Wing design was immediately overwhelmed and consumed by the crossfire, plummeting into a crowd of scattering, terrified citizens.

Chewie gave a mournful growl as Lando kept the _Falcon_ hovering low as he steered it towards Han, Luke and Leia.

"We lost Rogue Leader," Rogue two reported sadly.

"Yeah, I know, but we've got to keep going," Lando replied, "Chewie, get the hatch open."

Chewbacca ran back out of the cockpit towards the ships' hatch, past the two droids who remained in the passenger hold.

"No, you wanted to come along," Threepio was insisting to Artoo in his usual demeanor, "I was sensible and wanted to stay back, but you somehow dragged me into this thing like always!"

Roaring so that the three of them could hear, Chewbacca pushed the hatch open and gestured to the three Rebel heroes.

"Chewie!" Han exclaimed, elated at the sight of his copilot and best friend. He staggered forward, nearly falling on his bad leg, but Leia caught him around the waist and supported the general as Luke carried Vader on his hurting, breaking back.

Han and Leia reached the ship first, climbing in holding each other. As Chewbacca grabbed them both in a tight Wookiee hug, he looked past them questioningly at Luke.

"He needs help, Chewie!" Luke called over the engine as he proceeded towards them, "Please, don't argue, just help me!"

Chewbacca gave an angry bark, confused at why Luke was helping their worst enemy who had administered Han's freezing into carbonite on Cloud City and had pursued them all since the first Death Star.

Luke came forward with Vader, reaching the _Falcon'_ s cockpit, but Chewie stood blocking the entrance, growling aggressively.

"Rebel scum!" shouted a distant police sergeant in the distance amid the panicked crowd.

"Chewie, let them on!" Han finally snapped, hobbling towards the ladder leading into the cockpit. With a reluctant, suspicious grunt, Chewie moved out of the way as Luke dragged Vader on board the ramp, barely able to stand himself. He shut the hatch as blasterfire came their way.

"Get us out of here, Lando!" Han insisted as he climbed aboard.

"You look like you've seen better days!" joked his fellow general as he helped Han into the copilot seat.

"Let's go!"

"We've got several units here, we can't leave them

behind," Lando replied as they flew back up towards the looming Star Destroyers.

Rae Sloane stood surveying the progress of the battle within the command station of the _Ultimatum._

An aide came bursting in with urgent news as the TIE Fighters were continually deployed to the capital world's surface.

"Admiral Sloane..."

"Grand Admiral!"

"Sorry, ma'am, Grand Admiral! We have reports of the Rebel fleet coming out of hyperspace into the system."

"What?" Sloane activated the _Ultimatum'_ s advanced scanners and sure enough detected the Mon Calamari bulk cruisers approaching as they appeared above the confusion of Coruscant.

"This is unexpected," Sloane remarked as additional Rebel Fighters came out of _Home One's_ docking bay, "Order a full retreat!"

"Grand Admiral?" The aide looked at her in alarm at the uncharacteristic command.

"You heard me! Rax is gone and Vader isn't our problem anymore! We're not going to make bad decisions in the name of pride like we used to. Order a full retreat, so that we can fight another day!"

Startled by Sloane's sudden ferocity and passion, the aide saluted and replied, "Right away," and hurried back out to the command bridge.

"General Calrissian, this is _Home One,"_ came the voice of Admiral Ackbar into the radio.

"Loud and clear, Admiral," Lando replied, "We have them safe as baby banthas."

Below the cockpit, the exhausted, aching Luke set Vader to rest on a cot in the sickbay as Leia grabbed a medical kit to tend to Han.

"We decided this battle could be a key victory against the Empire," Ackbar said from the command station of _Home One, "_ The Rebellion is here to stay, and we won't ever again back away from battle."


	6. Turning of the Tide

"I just don't get it," Lando said near breathlessly as the cannon and laserfire in the atmosphere and orbit of Coruscant fizzled out, "Why would the whole Imperial Navy just retreat out of nowhere when they had us totally outmanned?"

"Who cares?" replied Leia as Han and Lando copiloted the _Falcon_ back in the direction of _Home One,_ which had taken minor visible damage in the surprise attack, which evidently had been spontaneous as Lando remembered his conversation with Supreme Commander Mothma before gathering Rogue Squadron. "At least the battle's over now, and it could have gone much worse than it did."

"Hey, how do you think the command is gong to react to our little cargo back there?" Han nodded in the direction outside the cockpit where the doorway of the _Millennium Falcon'_ s sickbay was just visible.

Inside it, Luke relies purely on his faith in the Force to maintain his badly wounded father's life signs and homeostasis as Vader remained unconscious and breathing shallow. He couldn't give up now, after such a long journey both, physically and emotionally, to find his true belonging and destiny.

He had spent most of his life on Tatooine, wondering both about where he had come from and where he would go in the future. Now, the future was here in the form of the father he had first idolized, then hated, and now held a compromise of the two. He knew he could not let Vader die, no, he could not let Jedi Skywalker die.,

He sensed Leia's gentle yet weary presence behind him. Remaining kneeling beside Vader, Luke turned his head to face her, still dressed in her green Endor commando jacket.

"We're getting ready to land in the docking bay," Leia softly informed her twin brother. Now that they were safe and all alive, the frustration she had felt seemed to have disappeared. Yet Luke sensed her continued revulsion at the monster before them. At least now she was cooperating. He would figure out the rest later, when everything had blown over.

"We can't let the Rebel leaders know about him," Luke pleaded with his sister, "he'll be executed for sure if they find out he's here."

Making deep and intense eye contact with her brother, Leia knew that Luke did not dare to say what was on the tip of his tongue, that he would very likely be prosecuted and similarly punished for harboring one of the most dangerous and heinous war criminals alive, father or not.

And despite her dominantly negative feelings about the man who had destroyed her culture, Leia's caring for Luke's well being that predated the revelation of their shared lineage was far prevalent over her hatred of anyone.

"I'm sure Han will be all right with keeping him in here," the princess grudgingly replied.

Luke nodded in thanks, then turned back to Vader, feeling his forehead with his hand. In fact, Luke was employing, or attempting to employ, an ancient healing technique that Obi Wan Kenobi had once applied to him, when he had been near fatally beaten by Tusken Raiders back on Tatooine.

 _Live, my father, live._

Almost imperceptibly, Vader's breathing began to deepen as his skin warmed. Luke breathed a sigh of relief as he sensed his father's already damaged organs restabilizing, his lungs filling with oxygen beginning to function as they had, his heartbeat increasing as it pumped the blood that Luke was causing to flow once again at the normal rate

Leia recognized that Vader would awaken soon and quickly ducked out as the _Falcon_ touched down on the hangar floor along with returning fighter pilots.

Artoo suddenly came in behind Luke, giving a comforting beep as he detected his master and friend's distress and ambivalent feelings.

Luke was grateful for his little droid's company, though Artoo was not organic, he, unlike the others, would not judge Luke for his feelings or choices, but merely provide support, as was his nature of loyalty.

"I'm glad you understand, Artoo," Luke sighed as he affectionately stroked the astromech's blue and white dome of a head, "I don't think anyone else does."

A small grunt from the cot. With a start, Luke watched as Vader's gloved fingers twitched, and his eyes fluttered slightly before slowly opening. Luke was somewhat disheartened to see that his father's eyes had the same striking scarlet aura and malignant yellow pupils, just like those of the deceased Emperor. He had truly been deformed and corrupted by the dark side, he hadn't been fully human in decades.

"Father," Luke assumed a soothing tone of nurture as Vader sat up in pain, disoriented, "It's me. The danger's over now."

"Luke..." Vader turned his weak yet menacing gaze to his son, as physically close as he had ever been to the boy, "Luke... where am I?"

"We took you aboard the _Millennium Falcon,"_ Luke replied tentatively, hoping blindly that the recently comatose Sith Lord would not lash out in a sudden fit of violence that would threaten the safety of them both and that of all the Rebels aboard the main command ship. "You won't be found here, I promise."

Vader took in the sights of the interior of the ship that he had pursued for years. Now that he was in the _Millennium Falcon,_ he could not stand his entire state of being.

"You...you took me as your PRISONER?" Vader tried to stand as Artoo backed away and let out a series of panicked, suspicious noises, but his bones were not yet strong enough.

"You're not a prisoner," Luke assured him, "This is just your best place to stay safe for now."

Vader again responded with anger, though he did not attempt to lash out again. "I do not need to stay _safe,_ my son. I need to go reclaim my Empire from the traitors."

"They nearly killed us all, and they would have if I hadn't contained the explosion!" Luke exclaimed with a slight increase of frustration, "You're not physically ready to go after them."

"Gallius Rax..."

"He's dead," Luke replied hastily, "I killed him."

Vader sensed the truth in his son's words and rested his bald, scarred head against the cot. "Using your aggression. Perhaps you made some progress after all."

Luke wasn't sure whether he wanted to cringe or scream upon hearing that. Here his father was still, trying to manipulate him into switching his allegiance to the dark side!

His killing of Fleet Admiral Rax had not been one of malice, but an act necessary to protect his father and his friends. Yet his Jedi teachers had warned him about using his powers for attack as well as allowing himself to be goaded into the dark side by cutting down another.

He had killed before, millions had without a doubt been on the first Death Star when he'd fired that torpedo, but this had been a personal, face to face encounter, and Luke had made the first move. True, he'd sensed that Rax was about to shoot, but he had still assumed the offensive right away.

He wondered how Obi Wan and Yoda would react to what he had done, and even more, whether they would have done the same in their primes.

Surely they didn't have as much blood on their hands as he did, in any case.

"I may be needed soon, by the high command," Luke said, dismissing for now the seed of doubt his father had planted in his mind. "Don't try to leave, for your own good?"

"What if I took out every last one of your Rebel friends on this ship?" Vader asked his son, still full of rage and hatred for the Alliance that he was life bound to utterly destroy, "They would be no match for my power."

Luke stalled by taking a deep breath, replenishing his patience and calm before continuing. "You can't possibly take the risk, exposing yourself to the Rebellion in the middle of their main headquarters. Besides, you still aren't strong enough."

Darth Vader may have been a man primarily driven by pride, but he was not a fool, nor was he blinded by his pride. Age and wounds had driven that part of him away.

"It would appear you are correct," Vader replied reluctantly, sighing bitterly as he gazed up at the rooftop of the _Millennium Falcon._

"I'm sure I'll be needed at the briefing," Luke stood as Artoo began to wheel himself out, "See you later, Father." He was gone before Vader could yell at his son for addressing him so casually.

Luke took the time to recollect his thoughts and focus as he slowly walked down the ramp of the _Falcon_ following Artoo onto the hangar where pilots were still unboarding their ships. As the ramp automatically closed behind him, it dawned on him how big of a risk he was taking, leaving Darth Vader, albeit injured, alone on the _Millennium Falcon._

Faithful as ever, Luke's greatest friends Han and Leia stood at the entrance to the briefing room along with Chewie, Lando and Threepio.

"Oh, Artoo, what took you so long?" Threepio whined, "You always take your diddly old time."

"Thanks again, Lando, Chewie," Luke said.

"Hey, it's the least I can do," the caped Calrissian replied.

The group proceeded into the briefing room and assumed seats amid the rows of Rebel soldiers, pilots and officers who were still fresh from the battle of Endor. Mon Mothma gave a warm smile towards the recently salvaged trio who had been prisoners of the Empire, where they had until now been strongest.

"Princess Organa, General Solo, Commander Skywalker, it gives me pleasure to see the three of you safe once more," she said, "We must commend General Lando Calrissian for his successful rescue."

Lando beamed with false modesty as the crowd looked his way, holding out his cape as he bowed low for them.

As Han winked at his friend and onetime rival, Mothma continued to address the ensemble Alliance to Restore the Republic.

"As of right now, the capital world of Coruscant must be in chaos and disarray following the mysterious attack on the palace and retreat of the Imperial forces. It would be foolishly optimistic to hope that the Empire is gone for good."

The Rebel leader signaled to General Crix Madine, who stepped forward to address the Rebels.

"We must as a whole remain on guard and prepared for reprisal from Admiral Sloane and the rest of the Star Destroyer fleet," Madine said gravely, "We cannot afford to get politically involved with the local population until we have achieved stability. I propose that we..."

Luke had stopped listening as he reached out with the Force, sensing his father who was slowly recovering from his injuries. Vader was still aboard the _Millennium Falcon,_ as of the moment serving as no immediate threat to the populace aboard the cruiser _Home One._

However, thoughts of revenge and hatred ran strong in the mind of the Dark Lord of the Sith, Luke could sense that to. Anger directed at him, the Rebellion, the Empire that had betrayed him, and the galaxy at large that had shown him very little to live for and caused him more suffering than Luke could have possibly imagined even at his worst.

"...remain on guard for an Imperial attack and keep scanning the local systems..." Madine went on as Leia noticed that her brother was out of the briefing and tapped him on the arm.

"Hey, you all right?"

Luke jerked his head vaguely, reaching out in the Force to his father, telepathically willing him not to try anything rash or dangerous. He sensed only immense rage and impatience from Vader.

Subtly but quickly, Luke got to his feet and began creeping along the rows of seated Rebels. Naturally, Leia immediately noticed his exit, sensing his disarray through their bond. Han quickly took her arm and squeezed it as he detected that her thoughts were elsewhere.

Luke hurried back towards the _Falcon_ at a jog, sensing quick danger as he saw the ramp opening. The young Jedi thanked his lucky stars that no rebels were present, and held up a hand as the massless figure of Vader emerged from the hatch.

"Stop!" Luke called out as Vader looked at him with his scarlet, hateful eyes.

"I have had enough of your games, Skywalker," Vader snarled as he raised a hand, beyond all reason, "I am going to tear this pathetic band of ruffians apart piece by piece."

Before the horrified Luke could approach any further, Vader had him by the throat, unable to reach for his lightsaber.

 _This is bad, this is very, very bad!_

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Several Rebel troopers flooded the hangar all of the sudden as the unmasked, damaged Vader was exposed to the Alliance.

"Luke!" Leia cried as the hangar was crowded.

Han bravely stepped forward, beckoning forth his strike team of Rebels who had fought on Endor.

"Let him go or we tear you apart," Han snarled, staring Vader right in the eye, with none of his usual wit or snark and more menacing than was possible from him.

"You still think after all this time that you are any threat to me, Solo," Vader replied, "Do your worst."

Luke's face was losing color as he hopelessly gasped for air. "Father..."

"If any of you dares to fire a weapon, this foolish boy dies," Vader said, glaring at all the Rebels who were badly tempted to shoot yet didn't dare risk the life of one of their best."

Han lowered his pistol slightly, realizing there was no easy way to save Luke.

"I am taking young Skywalker as my prisoner on your ship, the _Millennium Falcon,"_ Vader declared, "If any Rebel attempts to stop me, he dies."

Suddenly, Leia Organa came forth from the crowd, despite Mon Mothma's desperate whisper of, " _No!"_

"You've threatened again and again to kill him, and me," she said, staring her father defiantly in the eyes corrupted by evil, "Why shouldn't we call your bluff now?"

Vader did not reply, but used the Force to drag the dangling, helpless Luke towards the open _Millennium Falcon._

"Your precious Jedi made the foolish mistake of harboring me," Vader said, his comment directed at Mon Mothma and the Rebel leadership."

Leia gasped in horror and Chewbacca let out a desperate cry as Luke floated through the hatch of the _Falcon_ and disappeared over the ramp.

Vader kept his eyes on the Rebels confronting him as he backed away towards the ship he had pursued for so long. "I am going to take back my Empire," the Dark Lord declared, "and then all of you will face my wrath and regret the day you joined the doomed Rebellion."

Only when his armored feet touched the ramp did Vader dare to turn around, disappearing into the hatch as the ramp slip up after him.

Han let out a sick groan as his ship lifted off the platform. Chewbacca lifted his bowcaster to fire as the _Millennium Falcon_ disappeared into the stars, with both Darth Vader and his prisoner Luke Skywalker aboard. Leia watched through a film of tears as her brother's Force precense faded, Vader blocking him out.

As if looking for a solution on cue, Leia turned to an made eye contact with the brave leader Mothma, who merely shook her head in miserable defeat.


	7. Grim Reality and Renewed Hope

Though it felt like minutes, several hours passed before Luke had fully come to his senses. He was laying on the cot in the _Millennium Falcon'_ s medical compartment, he'd been in it far too many times.

Yet the comfort of a familiar environment was quickly replaced by the strong feeling of danger, very near. Luke was far from his friends, from the Rebellion, in the belly of the beast once again. Grunting, the young Jedi climbed out of the cot and made his was across the sickbay as the freighter sped across hyperspace, off to a place beyond Luke's knowledge or caring.

As he reached the ladder leading into the cockpit, Luke reached out to try and feel his twin sister in the Force. To his frustration, he sensed nothing from her. Closing his eyes and reaching out further with his mind, young Skywalker concentrated harder, using all his strength in the living Force.

 _Leia_

His connection to her was blocked, Luke realized, before, he'd been able to communicate with her nonverbally from any distance; just as size did not matter, neither did space. However, now something was actively preventing Luke's ability to reach out to Leia, and he knew exactly what situation he had on his hands.

Hearing the familiar, albeit now damaged breathing that had penetrated his nightmares, Luke climbed up the ladder with dread, into the cockpit of the hijacked _Falcon._

It was a strange sight, seeing not Han, Chewie or Lando sitting at the pilot's seat, but the back of Vader's bare, burned scalp.

The Dark Lord did not turn around to address his son, but stared out in the vacuum of space as the _Falcon_ flew on autopilot.

"You still have much to learn, my son," Vader stated. Luke noted more than before that his voice sounded far less frightening and somewhat more human without his mask of deception and mystery.

"You've cut me off from Leia in the Force" Luke snapped at him, jumping onto the offensive, "Let me communicate with her."

Vader remained facing away from his son as he replied. "To fully embrace the darkness, you must learn to separate from all that is keeping you in the light. That is the first lesson I learned from my Master in my own journey down this path."

If Luke had been in a different, less emotionally charged mindset, he would have found a flavor of bitterness in his father's voice.

Luke began to reach for the lightsaber clipped to his belt; then stopped as he pictured Master Yoda back on Dagobah. _A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack._

He remembered his determination to remain loyal to his friends, and stay strong. He couldn't afford to start down the path Vader was beckoning him on. He couldn't give up now, not even in redeeming the good remaining in the broken, saddened man before him.

"Where are we going, Father?" Luke realized he had not addressed Vader that way in a while.

At last, Vader rose, and turned around to look his son in the eye, his pupils still blaring red and yellow.

"You will help me reclaim my Empire," the dark lord stated as a matter of fact, "We will not allow the bureaucrats to get away with what they did to both of us. And then..." Vader paused, unsure of what was next.

He sensed no clear pathway in the future,

it was always in motion and could be radically changed at any moment.

On the streets of Coruscant, the Imperial administration had fallen into confusion after the unexpected terror attack by their own primary defensive Star Destroyer on the palace. As the local police force and stormtrooper units worked to control the increasingly revolting population, the Rebel cruisers and troop carriers began descending.

Minimal shots were fired as Shuttle _Tydirium_

came down among the X Wing Fleet. Leia gazed mournfully into space as Lando piloted the ship across the light, barely existent crossfire.

"Hey, he'll be fine," Han patted Leia on the shoulder and tenderly rubbed her back as they followed the procession of ships, "It's Luke. He's come out of much worse."

Leia sighed grimly before replying. "This time it's different," she fretted, "I can't sense him at all. Before, I could. It's like his precense doesn't exist." She held back a light stream of tears as Han held her to him.

Both Han and Lando knew better than to mention the lost _Millennium Falcon,_ for all their investment over the years into that old ship, the life and well-being of their friend was of a far greater importance.

Already, the rows of white armor were holding up their hands in surrender as the carriers landed amid them in the town square and the nearby avenues. The few TIE Fighters forming a defensive perimeter had quickly been blasted.

Mon Mothma's personal shuttle landed on the long abandoned Senate building's landing platform, and the former Senator emerged followed by Ackbar and Madine as well as a private guard of troopers. Shuttle _Tydirium_ followed as Chewbacca let out a sad, mellow roar.

"You really love him, don't you," Han whispered as he held her close.

"Yes," Leia replied as she faintly jerked her head up and down.

"All right, I understand," Han replied, feeling no jealousy, only compassion and fear for Luke. He needed to stay strong for Leia, however, and put aside his own worries.

Leia looked up at Han as the ramp to the shuttle came down onto the landing hangar, resting her head on his shoulder. "He's my brother," she murmured, her voice very shaken.

Han did a double take, briefly taking in the shocking news, then wondering how she came by the information, then deciding none of it mattered.

He just held her close.

"Hey, you guys need some time?" Lando asked gently as Chewbacca ducked under the doorway from the cockpit. Han nodded as he caressed Leia lovingly, seeking to comfort her.

The caped general and former gambler nodded as he followed Chewie in exiting.

As Han and Leia remained in the company of one another, they both realized at the same time that they were endgame.

Without Luke, maybe forever, they only had each other and the love that had undeniably blossomed between them. The love that would one day begin their family. They belonged together always, no matter what came their way. They were destined for one another.

And to start a family together.

Without any words, Leia the sleeves of Han's jacket in her hands and began to shove them off as Han placed his lips to hers and kissed her as passionately as he had it in him.

"We've secured most of the known factions of Imperial resistance," Madine reported to Mothma as they walked along the deserted, hollow Senate corridor, towards the old arena, "What are we to do about the local populace?"

"By all accounts, they seem only too glad to have the control over their lives loosened," Mothma replied simply, "The spell of evil and tyranny has been broken." Despite everything, Mothma allowed herself a small, bittersweet smile as she took in the reality.

For the time being, the Alliance has won and the Empire's most powerful forces has fled Coruscant. Democracy would soon return; the process had begun already. The two entered a turbolift leading into what had once been the Chancellor's public office, abandoned in favor of the Imperial palace.

Mothma looked around at the vacant office, which appeared as stately and sleek as it had during the Republic era. The empty seat behind the large chancellor's desk gave Mothma further satisfaction, pleased that the Empire was overthrown.

The airways were void of traffic and the remains of the Imperial palace could be seen amid the skyscrapers of the capital world.

" _Anyone who is able to tune into the Holonet, this is Mon Mothma, exiled senator of Chandrila and head of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. I don't know what worlds are still under Imperial control, or heard the news, but the Imperial palace has been destroyed._

 _" With Darth Vader and the fleet gone, the Alliance has landed on the capital world of Coruscant. We hope to restore order and peace in this chaotic time, and rebuild from the destruction of this terrible, tragic war. The Alliance will, one by one, liberate all systems still under the Empire. The dark time is coming to an end, and the dawn is coming. We have held on to hope all this time and the reward is just in our grasp."_

Aboard the _Ultimatum,_ Rae Sloane listened to the traitorous Mothma in her private cabin, comtempalting the Empire's next move. She didn't see how Vader or Rax could have been alive, but the Alliance was not getting less of a threat.

She realized that the retreat would have been highly looked down on by the lower ranking officersand once upon a time, she would have believed the same of an officer who issued a retreat rather than commit to the cause they had joined in the name of order and security, two of the Galactic Empire's principal cornerstones.

Yet now Sloane was older and more experienced in the field of battle, and she knew when it was time to retreat and live to fight another day, coming back stronger than ever. And that she would do, with an improved Empire under her command.

Within a few short hours, the alliance had settled into the Senate building, which they would use as a base as they spread their campaign of liberation to surrounding planets and systems.

At the moment, Han and Lando were meeting with Admira Ackbar to plan a military strategy to put Onderon under siege. Leia was left alone in her new quarters, with Artoo Deetoo beside her, albeit at the moment powered down.

Her desperation growing and her hope in danger of giving out, the Princess of Alderaan was determined to use her newfound Force powers to help salvage her brother. She had once before, on Bespin.

 _Luke._

Nothing. He was cut off completely. Replacing the feelings of love and warmth inside her with anger and hate, Leia instead concentrated on the dreaded, dominatant precense of Darth Vader, her father. She was very inexperienced in comparison to her twin brother, but it was there.

She could feel the Force powering through her veins as she grudgingly reached out to the man she despised. Something faint... he could sense her too... she sensed something inside the monster, there was intense rage and longstanding hatred, but... something else to him, something hidden from others...

No doubt her attunement to Lord Vader was a result of their shared bloodline, Leia thought as she silently sat in the small room. As she tried again, Leia felt an entirely new precense reaching out to her, one she hadn't felt before but somehow knew.

"Leia. Learn to control your feelings, and you will succeed in finding your brother."

The voice was as clear as the drab, abandoned room around her. Leia opened her eyes, looking around with a mixture of fear and wonder.

"Who's there?"

To her shock, a shimmering blue figure appeared before her. Leia gasped, springing upward and backing away in a start, taking in the appearance of the older man wearing a long brown robe and sporting a short white beard.

"Don't be afraid, Leia," the ghostly apparition told the young woman, "I am Obi Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight and former mentor to your brother Luke."

Leia tried to speak, but the words were stuck in her throat. She couldn't think about what she would say anyways. She'd heard from Bail Organa about this man, a great and valiant warrior who had fought bravely in the Clone Wars, who stood out for his loyalty to his friends and his patriotism for the Old Republic.

It took several moments before Leia could bring herself to say anything to this strange figure before her. She wondered what would happen if Han came in, would he be able to see this supernatural, impossible phenomenon? Was this because of he Force, or her individual identity that Kenobi was appearing to her now.

"What are you doing here? Why have you come to me?" Her voice shook as her world spun further out of control than it had been.

"I am here to help you find your brother, Leia. Like him, you have far greater potential than you know. It will be to the two of you to carry on the legacy my age of Jedi left behind."

Leia stared at the transparent man, seeing without believing. "You... you were a Jedi... you knew my father..."

Ben knew that she did not mean his friend Anakin, but the late senator Organa. He smiled sadly as he responded. "Bail was a great and noble man, entirely devoted to his people and a better tomorrow. I was very pained when I sensed what happened to Alderaan."

Hearing the name of her foresaken homeworld brought Leia back to the root of her deep, dark emotions that long predated her problems of the present. "Luke believes he can be saved. I...I don't think he can or should. He's too evil and he's committed too many horrors."

Ben looked back at her grimly, drifting slightly across the senate chamber.

"Sadly, I must agree with you, young Leia," he replied, "I once thought as idealistically as your brother did. That was a near fatal mistake for me, and it proved fatal for your mother."

Leia was hit hard in the chest by the single, sharp word. "My mother?"

"There is so much you don't know," Obi Wan said sadly, touching the woman on the shoulder with his shimmering hand, "I think it's time I told you everything, as I should have done long ago for Luke."

"Leia," Vader said aloud.

In the _Millennium Falcon's_ copilot seat, Luke glanced over at his scarred father in surprise.

"What is it, Father? What did you say about Leia?" he pressed.

"I... I felt her." Vader couldn't stop himself from sharing this with his son. It had been a strange, unknown connection through the Force with Leia, and that time, he had seen her purely as his daughter, not as a Rebel leader or a potential apprentice. He had had that same feeling when he'd sensed Luke after their duel on Cloud City, fully embracing the truth of their bloodline.

At last, Vader turned to look directly at his son once again, fixating solely on their familial connection. He hadn't been this aware of their bond in this way since... since before the Emperor's death.

It was ironic, Vader thought. It had been his love for Padme that had driven him to the dark side, which had ultimately yanked their bond apart.

Now, Vader's first taste of love, however vague, since then was only strengthened by Luke's determination to remain in the light.


	8. One with the Force

Leia took several steps back, not daring to speak as if the passage of time alone would rid her of this illusion before her. But no, she'd always known that the force that Luke practiced and that she was expected to begin learning was capable of feats greater than the imagination of a humanoid, so who was to say appearing from beyond the grave wasn't one of them.

And here was Obi Wan Kenobi, Luke's old mentor and the friend of her adoptive father Bail Organa. And apparently he had also been a friend and mentor of Anakin, her supposed birth father. She caught snippets of Obi Wan's monologue, the things that resonated replaying in her mind until she processed it.

Her mother Padme, Queen of Naboo, young Anakin's childhood as a slave onTatooine, his exploits in Podracing and dreams of piloting, the Clone Wars, a secret wedding, Jedi training on the capital world of Coruscant...

"I will confess that I myself can only speculate on most of the whole story," old Ben was saying regretfully, "I don't know exactly when your father fell under the influence of Palpatine, and I learned of it far too late. I failed to save him from the lure of the dark side, and it had cost the galaxy. Your mother died believing in the goodness within Anakin, and your brother Luke carries the belief with him, as it appears."

At last, Leia found it in herself to speak to the deceased Jedi Master, at the mention of Luke and his self-declared mission.

"He doesn't realize how hopeless it is. Vader... he's done so much evil, nothing can make up for it now." She shook her head dejectedly as she remembered his determination on Endor, to confront and ultimately redeem the Dark Lord of the Sith.

"The dark side will twist and destroy even the purest of souls until nothing is left," Obi Wan replied, "I learned too late that there was nothing left of the boy I trained to redeem. Now, my best hope is to train you to carry on the Jedi legacy should your brother fail."

Leia looked away and cringed, hating the idea of Luke, for so long a beacon of hope and victory, to either die or become as corrupted as their father had been. But the truth needed to be confronted head on, as did the destiny that had hidden from her for most of her existence.

"I'll do whatever I have to do," Leia informed the ghost, "If there's one thing I understand, it's stepping forward in the name of my duty."

"You would make your mother proud," declared old Ben, almost sounding choked with emotion. "Let us begin immediately, as there is no time to waste."

As Leia entered a state of meditation, she allowed her conscious self to drift into the Force. Whatever would come would come, and if the Force wished for her to connect with her brother, than she would. Until then, the best she could do was exercise her newfound bond to the Force...

The _Millennium Falcon_ was coming up on the Jakku system, located far in the Outer Rim, nearly bordering on the Unknown Regions. Sitting next to his father in the old freighter's cockpit, Luke looked over the _Falcon's_ advanced scanners that detected the mass armada of Imperial vessels over the backwater desert world.

"Father..." Luke knew how much of a risk he was taking in speaking up, he'd seen enough of Vader's inner rage recently to know he would not stand for resistance, "Are you sure you have a plan, in challenging the entire fleet head on."

Vader stared straight ahead into space as he replied, speaking between labored, damaged breaths. "The power of the Force... is stronger than any level of machinery. The nature of our strength extends beyond the physical."

Luke was strangely remained of a lesson on Dagobah with Master Yoda, after failing to lift his X Wing from the swamp only to watch in amazement as the ancient Jedi exile performed that very task relying only on the discipline of his mind.

He supposed in that respect, the dark side wasn't a lot different from the light. The difference, in the end, came down to what purpose the Force was used for.

Luke could hear Obi Wan and Yoda admonishing him for having these thoughts, but his mind was wandering already, unable to stop. What if the dark side really was stronger, offering powers that the way of the Jedi could not?

In the pilot's seat of the _Falcon,_ Vader sensed his son's internal dialogue with satisfaction. The boy was going through the same dilemma as he once had, before realizing the power of the dark side.

Although Vader had felt trapped after failing to save Padme from certain death, his efforts towards Palpatine's ascension wasted and his end of the bargain lost, he came to understand in ernest how much stronger the forbidden knowledge made him. He had no regrets about the path he took, and as darkness filled his son, Vader's lingering guilt about Padme's death was gradually fading away.

"As we both know, every fleet depends on its capital ship," Vader explained to his son, "With our combined piloting abilities, we can take down Admiral Sloane's _Ultimatum_ and the whole fleet will fall apart."

"Like when the _Executor_ fell over Endor," Luke could not help but add, knowing immediately that he had gone too far.

Vader turned to glare at his son. "Do not test me at this time, young Skywalker."

"Yes Father."

The stolen _Falcon_ came out of lightspeed above the world of Jakku, the assembly of Imperial battleships immediately visible hovering over the barren planet.

Immediately, the Skywalkers were greeted by a wave of TIE Fighters, ordered to shoot on sight at any Rebel vehicle.

As Luke scrambled to fire the guns of the _Millennium Falcon,_ Vader swerved to the right to avoid the all-too-familiar volley of green laserfire. Luke set the swarm of enemy fighters in his sights and opened fire, as he had done so many times before.

How ironic it was, Luke reflected as he watched the _Falcon's_ ammunition strike each fighter and blast the vehicles and their pilots into drifting, colorful molecules. This was definitely the situation that he would least have expected; as usual he was shooting down Imperial ships in a classic dogfight, and aboard the _Millenium Falcon,_ the first ship he had ever been on.

Yet rather than Han Solo, it was none other than Darth Vader who was at the helm of the _Falcon,_ the commander of the very military forces Luke and his Rebel friends had always fought against.

Grand Admiral Sloane gazed out of the viewport of her chamber, observing the approaching freighter that had by now become the most famous and hated ship of the Rebel Alliance.

Sloane was flanked by Commandant Brendol Hux, who said, "It's Captain Solo. It's strange that there are no other Rebel ships on our scanners."

Observing the flying patterns of the approaching vessel, Sloane replied, "Solo doesn't fly like that, and neither does Calrissian. Either way, I think it's time to avenge our humiliation in Coruscant."

Hux knew exactly what that meant. He activated his comlink and transmitted a signal to all neighboring Star Destroyers. "Maximum fire power! All bulk craft, apply maximum ammunition on the target. No mercy! No chance to surrender!"

Sloane nodded vaguely and continued to observe the _Falcon's_ flight pattern. Yes, Solo's flying skills and exploits were well known even up high in the Imperial chain of command, but even he didn't have the reflexes of this unknown pilot...

"Look out!" Luke shouted from the guns of the _Millenium Falcon._ Like his father, Luke sensed the massive array of fire incoming. Almost simultaneously, the _Ultimatum_ as well as the rest of the fleet assembled around Jakku opened fire.

One ship, confronted alone by the Empire's principal battleships. If it hadn't been the _Millenium Falcon,_ or if it hadn't been Luke and Vader, probably the two most formidable pilots in the galaxy, there would have been no hope.

Observing the seemingly-one sided skirmish in the vacuum of space, Brendol Hux observed the laser fire striking the _Millenium Falcon_ and watched the small Corellian freighter vanish entirely as it was hit.

"It's gone!" he shouted from above deck as the stationed officers cheered, "Repeat, the _Millenium Falcon_ has been destroyed!"

Sloane gazed out the viewport at where the laser fire had supposedly blown up the _Millenium Falcon._ There was no feasible way even that ship could have escaped the fire that had surrounded it, yet there was no debris of any kind.

All of the sudden, Sloane felt a tight grip begin to squeeze the breath out of her. She reached and grabbed at her neck as her throat tightened.

Watching from the surveillance cameras, Hux rushed from the deck back into the Grand Admiral's chamber.

Something mysterious and unseen was threatening the very head of the New Order, beyond the comprehension of most Imperials.

As Sloane struggled for air, Hux and several stormtroopers burst into the cabin.

"Grand Admiral!" Hux shouted in a panic as the stormtroopers raised their blasters and attempted to scan for the source of Sloane's plight.

Undetected by all satellites and tracking technology, the _Millenium Falcon_ loomed directly above the _Ultimatum,_ more specifically, above the hole that had been sliced into the massive hull of the Star Destroyer.

Stationed alone in the pilot's chair, Luke closed his eyes, and once again reached out in the Force.

 _Leia..._

Nothing. Vader was still blocking his ability to reach out to her, interfering with their inherent bond in the Force.

 _Luke..._

Luke opened his eyes and gasped, needing a moment to catch his breath. At long last, she had made contact, somehow able to use the Force as he had on Cloud City to connect with him, independent of his own Force powers.

 _Luke..._

 _Leia, are you safe..._

 _Luke, you have to get away..._

 _I can't leave now..._

 _Fly away..._

Luke did have the opportunity to simply pilot the _Falcon_ out of the Jakku system, merely enter light speed as his father roamed the infrastructure of Sloane's personal command ship. Vader would have nowhere to go...

But no, he had stuck with his father this far, and though the dark side still dominated Vader's soul, Luke knew that he could not afford to break whatever bond he had formed with the Dark Lord of the Sith.

 _How did you find me, in the Force?_

 _Obi-Wan came to me._

 _He came to you? He hasn't come to me, when I really needed him._

Luke felt his anger begin to rise, and some of the resentment he'd held towards Obi-Wan following Vader's original revelation was resurrected.

 _He told me everything, about us, and our father... and our mother..._

 _He told you about our mother? But I spoke to him on Dagobah, and he said nothing about her..._

Even now, when matters had truly reached their highest point of peril and fate, there was still some part of the truth old Ben was keeping from Luke!

Another question popped into Luke's mind at that moment. Of whatever Obi-Wan had told Leia that Luke didn't know, how much did Vader know?

While Luke was troubled by the questions racing through his mind, Vader roamed stealthily through the dim, forbidding corridors of the _Ultimatum,_ his labored breathing made silent by the Force.

Commadant Hux and the accompanying guard stood helplessly as Grand Admiral Sloane's face was losing color. Finally, a deep menacing voice spoke from nowhere.

"Rae Sloane. You have proven to be a usurper and a coward."

Sloane gasped desperately for breath as she managed a reply. "Vader... _Millenium...Falcon..._ "

"As always, military weaponry has proven to be no match for the Force." Vader assumes a mocking tone as he spoke to his rival. "I am surprised that you of all people, Sloane, chose to flee the Rebel attack on Coruscant. Surely you wouldn't leave the capital undefended to save your own status."

Sloane attempted to speak, but could not muster sufficient air. As she staggered against the wall, Brendol Hux immediately caught her in his arms.

"How ironic that the fleet has sided with you when you have shown utmost disloyalty to the Empire," Vader continued, "and I, as Palpatine's rightful successor, shall assume my place as Emperor and you and all other traitors shall _perish_ as punishment for your betrayal."

"Grand Admiral!" Hux shouted as Sloane's gasps became faint, her consciousness fading away.

She fell limp onto the floor as the tip of a red lightsaber blade appeared through the ceiling.

"Open fire!" Hux screamed in terror as Vader sliced open a hole and jumped down into Sloane's private chamber. As the stormtroopers shot rapidly at their former master, startled at his maskless appearance, Vader slashed his blade through all eight of them plus Hux, and with a single flick of the wrist they were all dead.

Vader raised a gnarled hand and edged the small door open. A larger unit of white-armored troops were waiting, rifles trained on the advancing target.

As soon as Vader raised his long red blade of hell, glaring at his former subordinates with eyes of inferno, the stormtroopers realized immediately that they were doomed.

The sergeant yelled in desperation, "Fire!" as the men began stampeding down the corridor in panic to get away.

Vader took his time, cutting down the men one by one, plasma piercing through armor, cutting through arms, legs, stomachs and necks. No time seemed to pass as he relished the moment, becoming one with his weapon as he became a storm of mass destruction.

Nearby, the Star Destroyer _Shadowjumper_ was in flames. During Vader's onslaught within the bowels of the _Ultimatum,_ Luke had taken the _Falcon_ and, using Jedi stealth, fired on the Star Destroyer and taken it completely by surprise.

He watched from the cockpit of the _Falcon_ as he dodged laser fire from stray remaining TIE Fighters as the _Shadowjumper_ plummeted towards Jakku's barren, sandy surface similar to that of Tatooine.

Luke felt no sorrow for the men and women who would all perish in the explosions and the flames, but rather, he found the frustration building up inside him converting into a savage, lethal satisfaction at causing this catastrophe.

He would make them all pay.

Young Skywalker, for the first time, consciously felt the dark side flowing through his blood as he proceeded with the _Falcon_ to prey upon the next vessel. And it made him feel good.


	9. The Dark Lord’s Apprentice

Han, Chewbacca, Lando and Nien Nunb, along with the droids Artoo and Threepio, were assembled outside shuttle _Tydirium_ in the landing platform of the Senate, discussing the course of events.

Because of the chaos caused by the sudden decapitation of the Empire, the recently-enslaved citizens of Coruscant had taken to anarchy, adapting the rioting and criminalizing habits of the lurkers of the criminal underworld hidden in the city's lower levels.

The rebel military was undertaking efforts to control the rioting population, but the fact remained that the New Republic needed public support to grow from what it was, and public support would be harder to come by if the armed forces enacted the same practices as their Imperial predecessors.

Suddenly, Lando looked at Han and frowned in slight alarm. "Han, do you know where Leia is. I don't think I've seen her since yesterday."

Han jerked in surprised and silently cursed himself. He'd been so overwhelmed and tired out by recent events that he hadn't realized that Leia had been missing for several hours, at least.

"I don't think she would have left," he mumbled, "could she have..."

It wouldn't have been out of character for Leia to take off without warning in search of her missing brother. But what transport would she have used? Surely not a one-man fighter.

"She's gotta be here..." Han mumbled, "I've been so stupid..."

"Han!"

Han gasped as Leia entered the hangar from the corridor, the sound of shouts of protest ringing in the distance.

"Down with Empire Two!"

"Out of the frying pan, into the fire!"

"Usurpers!"

"I know where he is!" Leia panted as Han scooped her into his arms, "Luke! I know where he is!"

"You do?" Han asked with concern, studying his sweetheart's exhausted, sweat-covered face. She appeared as though she had just undertaken a rigorous exercise routine. "Did he contact you?"

Upon hearing the name of his lost master, Artoo-Deetoo squealed with excitement as Threepio patted his domed head.

"Goodness gracious," the protocol droid exclaimed, "You have heard from Master Luke, Princess Leia?"

As Han put his arms around her middle, Leia shook her head and replied, "No, I found him through the Force. The sheer will of the Force."

Han shook his head in disbelief. He'd expect that kind of talk from Luke, but not from Leia.

"The Force?" he questioned with his classic skeptism as Chewbacca let out a quiet growl, "He used the Force to talk to you?"

"Who cares?" Lando interjected, "Leia, where is he?"

Leia hesitated before speaking up. A very short time ago, she'd had no reason to believe that Luke's Force would ever speak to her in the way it always did for him, or that she would understand the mystical energy field.

"I sensed his precense in the Jakku system," Leia informed them, "he's all right, but he's still with Vader."

"Which is it?" Han asked her, "is he all right, or is he with Vader?"

Leia ignored this signature wit and pushed herself off Han.

"When I talked to him, he seemed troubled... angry, even. He may not be in immediate danger, but Vader's precense is negatively affecting him."

"Yeah, no kidding," Han remarked, "so are we going to go rescue him, or what?"

Leia paused as she considered Luke's situation. Would he want to be rescued now? She'd sensed his strong resentment of the Jedi when she'd informed him of her conversation with old Obi Wan Kenobi, specifically directed at his former mentor.

Who was to say that this would not lean her brother in favor of aligning with Vader?

"We need the support of Mon Mothma and the leadership," Leia replied, "Vader could have an entire navy supporting him, and we don't know where Luke would fit into it."

"Storming the Imperial capital was one thing," Lando pointed out, "but how do you see Mothma agreeing to spreading our resources back into the Outer Rim to rescue Luke?"

"I know exactly where to go!" replied Leia anxiously, "If I can maintain the link with Luke, I can guide the entire fleet to him."

"I'm sorry to be that one, but it seems like the alliance is kind of occupied," Han gestured out the opening of the hanger into the streets below, where Rebel soldiers were attempting to peacefully ward off the angry crowd.

"We want real change! No more false freedom! False freedom! False freedom..." the cries could be heard several levels above surface level.

"If we rescue Luke," Leia argued, "he could... no he would... be key in subduing Vader and helping the Alliance bring him to justice. He's the only one that can take on Vader in a fight." _If he would be willing to, that is,_ Leia thought to herself.

"You're right," Han realized, "we couldn't not rescue our best chance of winning. They'll have to agree to support us with the fleet."

Chewbacca made a comment that, judging by the tone of his grunt, did not express particular enthusiasm.

"Yeah, you're right, Chewie," Han replied, "it would be much better if we actually had the _Falcon._ "

There was undoubtedly a gargantuan crater within the sandy surface of Jakku, or rather several, as wreckage from the Star Destroyers repeatedly crashed into the planet. Most certainly, the tons of debris would be hitting several settlements of civilization on the primitive world, killing several thousand along with the Imperials on board.

In fact, standing just outside a small dwelling among the village of Tuanal, a man named Lor San Tekka watched as the sky was filled with toxic grass and chunk after chunk of flaming durasteel crashed into the ground around them.

As the villagers screamed and ran in a panic, Lor San Tekka closed his eyes in sadness, not at his imminent death, but that the last Jedi had been corrupted by evil.

He had been made aware of the former Jedi Vader as well as the Skywalker twins quite a while ago, by a woman known as Ahsoka Tano. Despite not being born with the gift of Force-sensitivity, Tekka had foreseen meeting a Skywalker and passing on to him him the wisdom of the old Order in order to aid him in resurrecting the Jedi.

It would never come to be, Lor San Tekka reflected as his environment was consumed by toxic air and smoke, covering the entire village... until nothing but ruin was left among the sand...

Luke truly felt at home in front of the main controls of the _Falcon,_ singlehandedly taking out ship after ship. This time, however, he did not have to work as part of a team, the Force was entirely his weapon and it was serving him well, especially when he channelled his deepest anger and hate.

No Jedi has achieved this level of victory, Luke was certain of this as the last of the opposing vessels was split into flying balls of fire. He could not have done this without his father's guidance.

He sensed Lord Vader now, aboard the besieged _Ultimatum,_ amidst a pile of sliced body parts and pools of thick red blood littered on the elegant metal floors. If he was to be as powerful as his father, Luke had to let go of his ingrained Jedi restraint in favor of embracing his raw power inherent to such a strong user of the Force.

With immense satisfaction, Luke began to pilot the _Falcon_ back towards the _Ultimatum's_ main hangar, which consisted of only damaged TIE fighters and littered corpses of Imperials. As the ship approached the mouth of the hangar, Luke could make out Vader's figure, his torn cape, his damaged armor, his glowing lightsaber...

Vader turned and waited as the _Falcon_ docked on the hangar floor. He had not expected his son to carry out such a heinous act, and for the first time, Vader felt...

Pride. Simple, genuine, unironic pride towards the boy who had gone from disappointing him to exceeding his expectations, albeit with some manipulation from him. He found feel the burning psssion within Luke, and his longing for greater power.

The same as Vader had had when he had swayed to the dark side. No matter the motives or internal conflicts of individuals, the side of greater power always won in the end.

Vader's blood flow hastened as his son, donning black and exuding a greater aura of darkness, emerged from the open ramp of the _Millenium Falcon._ Smoke drifted through the air as Luke knelt at the feet of his father.

"The Jedi used me, father, and abandoned me when I was no longer useful."

"As they always do," Vader replied with immense pleasure. A real smile formed on his lips as he listened to his son.

"I have seen the true path of enlightenment, the path of the dark side. With your teachings, I hope to become a powerful warrior and rule the galaxy at your side as you once asked."

Vader searched the Force for signs of dishonesty or trickery. He found none, and he was certain that he would have rooted out any feigned loyalty from his son. He certainly had experience in that field.

"I am pleased that you now know the truth, my son. Henceforth, the poisoned teachings of Kenobi and Yoda will cease to matter, and the legacy of the Sith shall be your bloodline to carry as it has become mine. Luke Skywalker, do you pledge yoursekf and your destiny to the order of the Sith Lords?"

"I do, Father," Luke replied confidently and coldly, his gaze desolate and his mind cleared of all else.

Vader moved his lightsaber so the still-activated blade hovered just over the boy's shoulder. "Then I officially name you a Dark Lord of the Sith. United under us, the Empire shall take back the galaxy and restore order. The chaos of the war will soon come to an end...and we shall have... peace..."

Vader could vividly remember his own induction into the Sith order, a nervous, scared young man, unsure of what the future held. Luke was much stronger and more disciplined than that. He would soon learn to forget his Rebel friends and commit fully to the Empire, as Vader had.

"So, in short," Mon Mothma summarizes in contemplation, "you believe our whole fleet should launch a mission to rescue Commander Skywalker because he is the only one physically capable of defeating Lord Vader?"

Leia's need to rescue her brother and longtime friend had nothing to do with pragmatism, and she was absolutely certain Mothma knew this very well. Yet she nodded and played along.

"There aren't any other available fully trained Jedi. I still have a long way to go. I think it's been proven that no advanced military weaponry can take down Vader when he has such... powers."

For all her years of Senatorial debates and diplomatic training, Mothma was unable to counter this simple yet undeniable logic.

"I know as much as you do how important Skywalker is to the Republic," Mothma told the younger woman, putting a hand on her shoulder, "However, I'm afraid we have great problems here on Coruscant to deal with.

"Hardly any senators have responded to our communication, and the people of Coruscant seem to be resistant to us. It seems that those who have been oppressed for too long have a difficult time trusting government again, and I find it hard to blame them. We haven't been able to discuss formal elections with the disorder throughout the galaxy."

"The Empire is still powerful under Vader," Leia reasoned, "so more systems will be afraid to desert him. We rescue Luke, Luke neutralizes Vader, the Empire loses it's muscle. More systems will

be sure to join us and we'll be able to reestablish full democracy."

Mothma could not argue this plan. Leia was truly Bail Organa's daughter. She had the heart of a negotiator and a strategist.

"Admiral Ackbar!" Mothma called to the Mon Calamari officer to begin relaying commands. Leia could not help but smile ever so slightly despite everything, but this brief elation died as soon as it was born.

Once more, she sensed her brother, out there beyond the Empire's borders. Only now, his heart was filled with the dark side. It would be even harder to save him now.

Leia's eyes filled with tears as she realized that the good, noble, optimistic Luke Skywalker, who had believed in the good in such a being as Darth Vader, was gone. Completely gone and replaced by something else.


	10. Odyssey of Chance

The mammoth _Executor_ dwarfed by tenfold the largest Star Destroyers rallied by Grand Admiral Sloane, the perfect symbol of Vader's supremacy and divine right to rule as dictated by the dark side of the Force.

Vader watched with his son, now his apprentice as well, as the _Executor_ slowly approached the ruins of the _Ultimatum,_ a shuttle emerging from the bottom hatch of the legendary command ship.

Vader waited patiently as Admiral Piett delivered his shuttle onto the _Ultimatum._ It gave him time to revel in his victory. He would rally the remaining systems and with his son Luke at his side, finally crush the Rebellion, succeeding where Palpatine had failed.

He didn't need to sway Leia to the dark side, Vader now decided, since Luke had been won over. If she refused to cooperate, there was no reason for Vader to spare her life, his daughter or not. The same went for the smuggler Han Solo, who Vader had only kept alive as leverage to keep the Princess at bay.

His only concern was how Luke would react to the deaths of his friends... unless, Vader could somehow convince his son that the rebels were his enemy, and that they were plotting against him... yes, if it ultimately came to that, Vader had no problem manipulating his son in that manner.

The class-A shuttle released steam from its engine as it docked on the durasteel landing bay, its ramp sliding down as a guard of 501st legion troopers emerged in single file. They stood before Vader and raised their blasters upward in salute.

The small, thin Piett emerged and bowed before Vader, jerking in surprise as he then noticed Luke standing unrestrained at the side of Vader.

"My lord?" Piett's tone indicated his shock and curiousity, but he did not dare question Vader directly. The visibility of the dark lord's face did not detract from his fearsome image; Piett had already seen Vader's scarred head aboard the _Executor_ once before, and his eyes flared as malevolently as he had always pictured.

"Admiral Firmus Piett, my son and apprentice, Luke Skywalker. The Empire shall answer to his commands as well."

Piett bit his lip as he bowed awkwardly to the young man whom he recognized as Vader's longtime target and pet project. Luke didn't know what to make of Piett or his bow, so he merely nodded in reply, staring ahead with a stony face.

"My lord, the Rebels are in control of Coruscant, but there is great civil unrest," Piett reported to Vader, "The citizens are not responding well to their takeover."

"That is good news for us," Darth Vader replied, "We need not worry about the situation on the capital."

Now it was Luke's turn to be surprised. "Father?" he asked, giving Vader a side glance.

Vader looked straight ahead as he responded. "It is time we establish our authority here in the Outer Rim. We must summon the remaining Imperial forces stationed throughout the nearby systems and invade as many worlds as we can."

Admiral Piett nodded and replied, summoning a small amount of boldness, "My lord, what of the Rebellion on Coruscant and the leadership?"

"They will be of no immediate concern. I sense that in time, they will find us, and we shall deal with them when the inevitable time comes. Until then, we need to replenish our strength as an Empire."

"Yes, My lord."

Indeed, Vader was well aware that Leia had communicated with Luke through the Force, however she had developed the ability. She would find them... and she would be forced to submit or die along with her traitorous comrades.

For his part, Luke reflected as he accompanied his father, the admiral, and the stormtroopers, he was glad that they would not immediately focus on the Alliance. Although he still felt betrayed by Ben Kenobi and the light side, he knew in his heart that he was not yet ready to face his sister and Han. He could never harm them, not after all they'd gone through together, all their memories and hardships, all the camaraderie built between them...

The time would come where he would truly be at a crossroad, Luke decided. If there was one Jedi principle still useful to him, it was staying in the now. He couldn't bear to think about the future and what it would hold for himself, or his friends.

As father and son sat and strapped themselves in the passenger hold of the Imperial shuttle, Luke asked, "Where will we invade first, Father?"

Vader let out a deep, labored breath before replying. "The world of Takodana is de facto run by the pirate Maz Kanata in her tavern, a common smuggler haven. Bringing that system under our control will be a crucial first step in dismantling the criminal underworld in the Outer Rim."

Luke nodded vaguely, taking in this information. He thought he remembered Han mentioning Maz Kanata once. He quickly shoved his old friend out of his mind, remembering he couldn't allow Vader to sense his thoughts of his other life.

Upon landing aboard the _Executor,_ Luke and Vader exited the shuttle along with Piett and the 501st troopers. This was the second time Luke had been aboard Vader's infamous flagship, and the first time he'd been on the Imperial craft not as a prisoner, but as an ally.

The ensemble was greeted by an awaiting party of loyal officers and stormtroopers, standing at attention as the party marched down the aisle. Luke remained indifferent to the bemused glances and double takes from the captains who recognized him, but if Vader approves of his presence, there was no reason for the Imperial officers to disagree.

Luke, Vader and Piett silently proceeded towards the corridor that led up to the command bridge of the _Executor._ Luke surprisingly found that he'd enjoyed the reception he'd gotten along with his father upon arriving, as well as Piett's slight yet evident fear of his new superior.

He allowed a near-imperceptible smile as they stepped onto the bridge above the stationed officers. Looking below deck, Vader said directly to the officers, "Set your course for Takodana. The rest of the fleet will follow duly."

Luke allowed himself to relax fully as the switches were flipped and the _Executor_ entered lightspeed. They would storm Takodana and Luke would aid his father in restoring order to the galaxy.

"All units are accounted for," Han reported from the cockpit of the _Shuttle Tyrdirum's_ he maneuvered the seemingly humble freighter around the bulk Mon Calamari crusiers. Chewbacca had resumed his role as copilot while Lando and Nien Nunb remained stationed on _Home One._

"Princess Leia," Admiral Ackbar said into the radio from _Home One,_ not realizing she wasn't in the cockpit to hear, "Do you know where to lead us."

Han looked out the hatch leading into _Tydirium's_ walkway. "She'll be up in a minute, Admiral," he replied uneasily. "Chewie," he said much more quietly, "Do you mind going to check on her?"

The Wookiee growled in agreement and quietly climbed out of the cockpit.

He found the Princess accompanied by the two droids, sitting in the cargo hold. She took notice of Chewbacca as he stepped into the doorway, frowning with evident preoccupation.

"It would appear your presence is required," Threepio said, ever the observant one.

"Yes, I know," Leia said quietly, obviously very different. When Chewie indicated concern, she stood and said, "I'll be up there, I just have something difficult to tell Han."

As she climbed up after Chewie into the cockpit, Han said into the intercom, "She'll take it from here."

He gazed into his sweetheart's face and immediately knew something wasn't quite right. Besides having her brother missing and possibly lost his way, of course.

"Later," she mumbled to him as Han rose from his seat and sat behind Leia as she assumed the position of pilot.

"Follow my lead, Admiral," she said with a gust of summoned authority in her voice. As she set shuttle _Tydirium's_ trajectory, all other craft followed suit.

"All vessels ready to follow?"

"Aye," came the reply.

"We're with you, Princess," Lando said from the main gunnery of the capital ship.

"Very well," Leia sighed as she set theinto lightspeed.

As the fleet blasted into hyperspace with Leia leading the armada in _Tydirium_ Han leaned over her shoulder and murmured, "What is it?"

There was no way around saying it, and there was no worse timing either. Her eyes watering, Leia gazed over into his face and whispered, "Han, I'm pregnant."

Han stared hard, unable to stop himself from doing a double take as Chewbacca expressed his own form of surprise.

"You're pregnant?"

Leia nodded gravely.

Han was quiet as he thought about all the implications. In the midst of everything going on, their duties and the ever-changing climate, they were bringing a child into the world. _Their_ child. Born with the best of them, one who'd grow up with the love they already shared with each other and would be extended to him or her. Another member of their family, that existed beyond bloodlines.

"That's wonderful," Han finally said, a smile overtaking his weather-beaten features, "I can't wait."

"Han, we're in the middle of a war, my father is a Sith Lord, Luke..."

Han stroked her hair with one hand and her cheek with the other. "It's going to be all right," he assured Leia, "it's us. We'll make it like we always do."

Leia smiled back at his reassurance. He'd come such a long way from the cynical, self-serving mercenary he'd been when she'd met him. And as she looked into his eyes, she truly, genuinely believed him. It would all be fine. More than fine. They were starting their family.

Leia turned back to the vacuum of space ahead of them, _Tydirium_ trailed directly by _Home One_ and the Rebel fleet. She reached out in the Force, knowing Luke's location would come to her and relying on sheer faith.

 _Luke... where are you?_

And as a result of her calm state of being and resignation to the will of the Force, her patience was soon rewarded.

As _Tydirium_ changed course in the midst of lightspeed, its signal came up in the system of _Home One_ and the ships of every fighter pilot. And with as much faith in Leia Organa as she had at the moment in the Force, they followed her, indirectly placing their faith in the Force as well.

Green and red clashed once again in the especially built training obstacle course in the _Executor._

As Luke dodged a pillar slamming out of the durasteel floor, he lunged at Vader with his saber, striking with purpose and letting out his longtime frustration. Vader swatted aside Luke's blow and jabbed at his chest, swaying his head to avoid a flying dagger from a socket in the wall.

"Good, my son," Vader commended as Luke made up the ground between them and lashed out with maximum aggression. Vader sensed every blow before it came; he and Luke had learned the same style of combat from the same source.

"You are channeling your darkest emotions. You know the Jedi have lied to you. You know they led you astray from your true destiny."

Neither opponent gave each other any time or space. If one of them let up, they would die. That was how Sith practiced combat. Real life foes wouldn't be so patient or yielding.

Another dagger flew towards Luke, who used the Force to stop it in midair and send it crashing into the wall. Vader sensed that his son was about to switch off his blade and withdrew.

As Luke deactivated his saber, Vader used a Force-command to shut off the training room's system and everything came to a halt.

"An enemy will not stop if you do," Vader reminded his son with more than a small twinge of annoyance.

"I know, Father," Luke said with evident shame, "but I just have to ask. When I spoke with Leia through the Force, she said that Obi Wan had spoken to her. About our mother." He stared pointedly at the towering man before him, any fear or reservation he may have held outweighed by burning desire.

Vader glowered at his son, the still-glowing weapon in his hand twitching. He had half a mind to cut down the insolent boy where he stood. Luke would never know it was coming.

But if he killed the boy now, there was no guarantee Leia would turn to the dark side. It would be very difficult if not impossible to replace Luke as an apprentice. So Vader pointed his red blade downward as he spoke.

"Your mother was an important figure on the world of Naboo," he said, reminding himself that he had never loved Padme Amidala, nor had she been any part of his life. No, she had belonged to the heart of a certain Anakin Skywalker, a man as dead and meaningless as she was.

"The Jedi code forbade us from falling in love or forming any attachments. I saw through that hypocrisy and did not let that stop me. We married at the start of the Clone Wars in secret. She was a Senator while I served as a Jedi general."

Vader paused, reminding himself that he was only referring to Anakin Skywalker in the first person so not to confuse Luke. He was still talking about another being, and a weaker being at that. He was merely giving the facts, with no emotion or personal connection to them.

"If Obi Wan or the Jedi found out about our love or marriage, it would have been over for both of us. Indeed, it was Obi Wan who caused your mother's death in the end."

It was true, Vader reflected. Had Obi Wan not stowed aboard Padme's ship en route to Mustafar, she would not have died the way she did. It was his fault, not Vader's.

"Obi Wan?" Despite Luke's resentment of the lying old man, he couldn't quite bring himself to believe old Ben would be responsible for his mother's death. At least not immediately.

But he sensed the truth in his father's words, knowing he would have been able to detect otherwise. He could imagine his mother lying on her deathbed, calling for Anakin as Obi Wan remained all the wiser.

"As you may know," Vader went on, "it was Kenobi who gave me the grievous wounds requiring this suit to sustain me. He left me for dead and took your mother to die as you and your sister were born. That is why he lied to you, to hide his own guilt."

Luke blinked and, in his mind, connected the dots. No matter what else he would have once believed, it all made perfect sense. Ben had lied through his teeth even in spirit form on Dagobah. His mother, a beautiful Senator, had been killed by Obi Wan because of her love for Luke's father, and Vader had been punished by suffering grave injuries at the hands of the Jedi.

Meanwhile, Luke had been stolen from his father by none other than Kenobi, who did everything he could to keep Luke from discovering the truth.

"I see through the lies of the Jedi, now," he informed his father with menacing confidence."

"As did I, given time," Vader replied. He was twisting the truth the way Palpatine once had, he knew. Deep down, he'd known of the late Sith Lord's deceit and loathed him for it. His son too, would grow to hate his new master as well and be forever barred from straying away from the dark

side. The point of no return.

Vader knew that training his son would eventually lead to his death. Sooner or later, he would fall to Luke's blade. As was the way of the Sith. No master ever survived training an apprentice unless they killed the student first. Vader saw no reason it would be any different with Luke.


	11. Blade of Skywalker

Maz Kanata gazed outside the highest tower of her castle over the Nymeve Lake to the dark, shadow-casting shapes looming over them.

She knew that the Dark Lord of the Sith and his son were coming to raze the lush, green world. Maz has always managed to remain away from any Imperial activity, and had not had any dealings with the Jedi or Sith for centuries.

However, Maz Kanata was keenly aware of the events that had transpired between the two sides of the Force, as well as the story of the Chosen One and his family. She had chosen to remain neutral in the inherent conflict of the two sides of the Force, not practicing either one despite her roots as a Jedi.

She had departed the order prior to the Battle of Ruusan, and had set up a safe haven for smugglers and criminals on the run. She had learned not to deal in good and evil, but rather in practicality and logic. And it was illogical to side with an ideology with which she had long been disillusioned with.

Yet something had changed inside Maz, ever since an expedition in the heart of the gas giant Bespin. An abandoned lightsaber had been found in the core of the remote world, and Maz had seen everything when she'd activated it. She'd seen the scourging of the Jedi Temple, the Clone Wars battle by battle, the slaughter of a Tusken Raider tribe, a duel between a young Jedi and a tall, dark figure of obsidian mystery.

Maz could feel in the Force the presence of the boy Luke Skywalker as well as Lord Vader.

She opened the chest and gently grasped the metal hilt in her small orange hands. Her faithful droid ME-8D9 approached under the stone doorway, the roar of TIE fighter engines drowning out the sounds of musicians in the bar.

"It's time, Emmie," Maz said to her droid as the tower was struck by laser fire. Several shuttles were descending from the _Executor_ onto Takodana.

Maz scrambled towards the staircase leading down to the tavern, grasping the weapon tightly. Even after a thousand-something years, the lightsaber felt natural in her grip. She could still feel the Force calling to her, though she'd chosen to ignore it until now.

No more.

Most beings who lingered within Maz's tavern were unprepared to stand against the invasion. Aliens and humans raced to their ships docked outside the palace or on the adjacent hangar.

Vader smiled in amusement at the fleeing cowards. It had been a long time since he'd gone on a healthy excursion like this. As he led Luke and the 501st Legion off the shuttle, he activated his red blade and marched through the mud and grass towards the ancient castle. Gazing up at the statue of Maz Kanata on the rooftop, Vader imagined his own likeness built into the mountaintop instead.

He was akin to a god, the most powerful being in the universe. He had climbed up to the top by killing those who stood in his way, from Dooku to Obi Wan to Palpatine. Now Maz Kanata would die as well,

Screams rang out as the drawbridge to the pirate castle came crashing onto the grass and several beings scrambled out, some fleeing towards the jungle surrounding them and others drawing their blasters to fire back.

Luke switched on his own weapon as blaster fire came his way. Like machines, the soldiers of Vader's personal guard brought their blasters to life, mowing down the smugglers, musicians, and customers as they tried to flee.

Vader turned his head to the sergeant behind him.

"Signal for the fighters to burn down the jungle," he said.

"Yes, My lord," the sergeant pressed a button on the gauntlet built into his armor sleeve.

Luke took a deep breath as they approached the gate leading into the chaotic tavern. A Rodian came charging with his pistol drawn, firing rapidly. Vader used the Force to crush his throat as he led the ransack.

A pair of droids, an unarmed man and woman, a Whiphid, a Trandoshan...

Body after body was left sprawled in the area surrounding Maz's castle and the lake. Smoke was emerging from the vines and shrubbery as hiding low-lives were found and burned by the TIE bombers.

Vader could sense the ancient presence of Maz Kanata as he entered the palace. She was a legend not only among the Jedi, but among the traders and dealers of Tatooine, so he'd grown up knowing her name.

It was the Jedi temple all over again, the Dark Lord reflected as he cut down a cowering group of alien muciisans in his path. It was another massacre in the name of law and order, and he loved it.

Luke on the other hand took no pleasure in the slaughter, but he remained cold and stony as he cut each limb with his green blade of acidic poison. He had killed before as necessary, and this was no different.

Every impulse of compassion or remorse was quickly replaced by the thought of ruling at his father's side. This was the man, after all, whom he'd asked about his whole youth, and had received only lies and half-truths in response to his curiosity.

"Stop!" a hoarse, feminine voice rang out as Maz Kanata emerged from the dust, wielding a blue-bladed weapon both Vader and Luke recognized all too well.

"How did you get that lightsaber?" Luke immediately asked the small, orange creature before him.

Maz peered sadly up at him through her round goggles. Then she turned angrily to Vader and said, "No fighting in my bar. You'll have to pay for breaking my rules."

Vader gestured to the surrounding troopers. "Spread out and take anything you find of value. We will deal with her ourselves."

As the soldiers marched into the surrounding passageways and staircases, Maz brought the saber up, gripping it in both hands.

"That's my weapon," Luke said, speaking with a low growl to his voice.

"Is it now?" Maz asked him, "Or is it a weapon of another man, an man uncorrupted by the evil of the dark side, a man pure and true to those who he has sworn allegiance to, and give him their allegiance in return?" Maz could have been talking about either Skywalker, both of whom had owned the blade at one time.

"I've had enough Jedi lies!" Luke yelled, coming forth with his green saber and swinging it downward to strike Maz down.

The mysterious alien danced out of the way, and came up with the blue weapon, forcing Luke to parry down low. Vader now advanced as well, aiming the tip of his lightsaber downwards as he moved to stab through Maz's head.

She aimed a hard kick at Vader's leg armor, slightly throwing the Sith Lord off balance.

Vader grunted as his back hit the table, and staggered forward.

Luke moved again to cut Maz down, and the former Jedi raised an orange palm, holding onto the Skywalker weapon with her other hand.

Luke found himself flying backwards against the wall, still clutching his lightsaber. Vader now summoned the dark side of the Force as he raised a fist, grabbing Maz's throat.

Maz Kanata gagged as her body weakened, keeping a grip on her lightsaber.

"Finish it," Vader said to his son as Luke stepped forward with his green blade held vertically in front of him. Maz looked at the boy, and managed to fight Vader's hold enough to speak.

"You know you are beyond this," she said, "Unlike this creature, you still know friendship, and loyalty, and love."

"Do you hear this old hag?" Vader asked his son, attempting to tighten his Force-hold of Kanata, "feeding you the same morals the Jedi used to deceive the galaxy? Take your weapon back and deal the fatal blow!"

Luke outstretched his hand, grabbing for the blue blade he had received from Kenobi years before.

As Maz struggled in Vader's telekinetic grip, the humming blade soared across the distance between them and landed in Luke's flesh hand.

Immediately, Luke was carried out of the rationed tavern and burning Takodana, into another time and place. He recognized his homeworld of Tatooine and the Tusken raiders, who fled in fear as a blue bar of plasma cut down their kin. The yells of the men, the cries of the women, the screams of the faceless children...

Luke now saw the Jedi temple, under siege by the clone army. A timid but brave Youngling approached a hooded figure and said, "Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?"

A moment's agonizing pause, then the blade comes to life and slices the boy in two. The Younglings shriek as they fled towards the exit.

The lightsaber moves in a whirlwind, slashing the fleeing children into pieces.

And Luke was brought back to the here and now, grasping both the lightsaber he'd inherited from his father and the one he'd built on Tatooine.

As Luke glanced furtively at his father, Vader snarled, "I am losing my patience, boy."

Without another thought, Luke thrust forward both lightsabers and impaled Maz's tiny body.

With a gasp and an outstretched hand, Maz Kanata expired and fell onto the table with a thud.

"It is done, Father," Luke said, switching off both lightsabers. His father had killed children... political targets were one thing, but children...

Vader stared into Luke's eyes, his yellow pupils of hate reaching into his son's thoughts. "What you saw was true," he ventured, "I did indeed kill those children."

Luke didn't know how to respond. He looked down at his own boots, then outside towards the burning greenery and jungle. The bodies littered around them, the burns and severed parts removed by his own two hands gripping the lightsaber hilt.

"Even the most heinous of actions may be necessary for the greater good," Vader continued, "You will learn, as I have learned, to think beyond the puerile morals of the Jedi. That is why only the Sith are fit to rule."

Vader signaled to a passing stormtrooper. "Fetch me the prisoner from my shuttle."

"Right away sir."

Luke continued to stare ahead in disbelief. Had it really come to this, he asked himself. Killing military targets was one thing, but these people had had nothing to do with the conflict.

Had Vader had the same moral conflict, when he'd committed his first cold-blooded murder? Or had the evil inside him always been there, regardless of outside influence?

Vader scanned the area, surveying what he would make the capitol building of Takodana. "There are still settlements on this world to be dealt with," he said to the unaware Luke, "I shall oversee the Imperial occupation while you lead our men elsewhere. The _Executor_ will provide a chart of nearby systems to strike at next."

Luke had never wanted this, he thought. He had become frustrated with the Jedi, specifically Obi Wan, but this, he had to admit, was too far. He knew deep down that despite everything Vader had told him, and despite his feeling of conquest and purpose, he was betraying not only Han and Leia, but himself as well.

"The men of the 501st will answer to you now," Vader was informing his son as he stood waiting for something outside the ruined tavern, "Your next mission will be to Nal Hutta, where you'll face down the Hutt clans and remove them from power."

Luke wasn't listening, he watched as three men led at gunpoint a small, red-haired boy into the crushed gate. The boy stared ahead with a mask of dispassionate defiance, but Luke could sense the child's fear.

"The son of Commandant Hux," Vader informed his son. "This will be your ultimate test to prove your loyalty to the Sith."

"I'm not afraid of you, Darth Vader!" the little boy snapped at the hulking Sith Lord before him.

Vader raised his lightsaber. "Strike him down. He means nothing to you or the cause you fight for."

Luke gazed at the boy, unsure of what to do. Yes, their surroundings served as evidence of his misdeeds, but this was a child. His father expected him to take his lightsaber, and stick it through this boy, and watch him die.

There was a time where even Vader would have felt a sensation of conflict within himself at the prospect of such an act. Yet now, more so since the death of Palaptine, he was confident in the dark side and his mastery of it.

Luke knew whatever choice he made now, there was no going back. He would either lose his father by refusing to kill the boy, or lose his own identity. It had really come to this...

"I won't do it, Father."

"You are walking a thin line, my son. You are refusing an order from your Emperor," Vader growled, "Kill him now, or suffer the cost!"

"This is too far!" Luke declared, moving both lightsaber blades in a position to defend himself, "I don't want to be your enemy, Father, but I'm not doing this!"

Vader glared at his son, his eyes indicating his corruption. He saw that Luke really wasn't going to obey him. And now he would finally make good on his threats and prove that there was no soft heart inside Darth Vader.

"Perhaps a demonstration will remind you of your place," Vader said. He raised a hand and used the Force to pin Luke where he stood.

"NOOO!" Luke knew what was coming, and the boy cowered at the same time, finally letting out a scream as the red blade came down towards him.

At the same time, Luke managed to break free and met his father's red blade with both of his.

"I can't let you do this, Father!" Luke said.

Vader was beyond weary of this repetitive cycle. He had come so close to converting Luke entirely, and now his efforts were crashing down on him.

"You have a choice!" Luke yelled as the savers locked and father and son faced each other over a wide-eyes boy watching them. "You can still turn away from the life you've chosen! Lay down your blade!"

Not that long ago, Vader would have considered the choice Luke was giving him. But no, there was nothing to live for anymore. No Padme, no family, no Jedi...

Did he dare even think it? Did he dare admit, even to himself that a part of him missed his old life, Obi Wan, Padme, even the Jedi Order? It didn't matter anyway, it was all gone, and he was past the point of no return. All that was left for Vader was the Empire. His Empire and the dark side.

But Vader's moment of hesitation had cost him. His hold on his Sith weapon had slackened ever so slightly and Luke's green blade pushing against it was cutting through his exposed respiratory tube.

Vader began choking and sputtering as he staggered back, gasping for breath.

"No, Father!" Luke shouted as he realized his mistake.

Vader pointed to the 501st Legion troopers and gasped, "Kill...boy..."

As the red-haired child let out a scream, the white armored soldiers opened fire and mowed him down. A split second later, Luke had cut down both men, and raced towards Vader, dropping both lightsabers as the elder man tried to remain standing, his lungs failing him.

"Father, there's still time to save you," Luke stammered, placing his arms around the caped knight to help balance him, "Let's get you back to the medical bay on..."

Vader reached out with the Force, summoning the strength to summon the blue lightsaber. It flew towards them, with the intent of cutting Luke down.

Luke knew it was coming and immediately dropped Vader's ailing form, summoning his green blade into his hand. With a swish, Luke severed the lightsaber in half, separating the plasma from the metal.

The dismembered blade fizzled out as it hit the blood-stained floor, while the broken hilt clattered with a sound of finality.

"I'm sorry, Father, I tried," Luke said sadly, realizing he could not help his father. He couldn't change another person who was so adamant about the path he'd chosen. With one last look of sadness, Luke deactivated his green lightsaber and hurried towards the castle exit.


	12. Imminent Doom

As he had nearly every day of his life as a Sith Lord, Vader cursed Obi Wan Kenobi for inflicting on him the injuries that had required him this prison of a suit and the attached breathing apparatus. After all these years, Vader's physical ailments were finally killing him.

Not even five minutes before, he'd been the supreme being in the galaxy, all-powerful and with nothing in his way, and now, he was minutes away from death, it was through use of the force that he was able to preserve a small amount of air. But now Vader's energy was ebbing...

"My lord!" a loyal trooper came into the slaughter zone and found the Dark Lord slumped against a round table, struggling for breath and his face the color of the scars across it. The body of Maz Kanata laid across the table, limp and lifeless.

"Get in here!" the sergeant yelled, beckoning more troopers from outside, "Lord Vader needs help!"

As five more nameless, faceless men rushed in, Vader hated the entire universe and cursed his own existence for humiliation.

He had sunk this low, depending on mere foot soldiers to aid him. He should have been more than capable of getting himself out of there. But no, he may well be dead within ten minutes, and the Sith Order would collapse without a reigning Lord. He would be met in damnation by generations of predecessors who had been slain by their apprentices.

As the men grabbed Vader under the arms, Vader gazed at the tiny body of little Armitage Hux, the ghost of his last wail reflected on his young face.

Vader, even near death, felt no remorse.

His fate was inevitable, he reminded himself as he was dragged out into the scorching jungle towards his shuttle, his apprentice, son or not, would eventually kill him. He just hasn't expected Luke to do it so soon, nor after having betrayed the dark side.

"You'll be all right, Lord Vader," the sergeant reassured him as the troopers carried their fallen master onto the shuttle. They gently set down Lord Vader on a cot as the sergeant yelled into the cockpit, "Get us back up to the command ship right away! Lord Vader needs medical attention!"

Vader could feel the vibration of the shuttle taking off into Takodana's smoky atmosphere. He fought to remain conscious as he was taken into the planet's orbit back to the _Executor._ His command ship, the nerve center of his empire... it was still his to control...

Luke used the Force to remain undetected by Imperial scouts as he piloted the retrieved _Millenium Falcon_ out of Takodana's system, choosing not to jump into lightspeed in order to preserve fuel in the small, short range Imperial craft.

As he steered the vehicle away from the conquered world, Luke seeped into the living Force, his one thought on Leia, who now was beginning to understand the powers she, like her twin brother, was born with. He hoped she didn't consider him lost to the dark side like their father.

 _Luke..._

There it was! She was reaching out to him as wel. The Force wanted him to find her!

 _Leia, where are you?_

And as he searched his feelings per the teachings of the late Master Yoda, Luke could feel the direction of her presence. She, like the rest of the Rebel Alliance, was searching for him. She had not given up on him after all, even after sensing the dark inside him!

Luke knew he had committed acts that he could not reverse, and would possibly cost him the love of his friends, but he had to find them now, and protect them from the Imperial superpower that far outnumbered them even still.

Luke steered his TIE fighter in the direction of the telepathic beacon calling to him, not allowing his concentration to break. At that moment, the ratio of his stolen fighter blinked.

Luke answered it automatically, only slightly allowing his mind to return to the material world.

"Stop right there or we'll open fire!" the harsh voice in the radio snapped at him.

Six TIE fighters hovered behind him, their guns aimed and ready to execute who they supposed was a deserter.

Luke sped up, maneuvering the craft to the right as the shots came at him. Once he had turned the old freighter all the way around, his cannons were facing the wings of the nearest fighter, whose pilot had too slow reflexes to react in time.

Luke moved on to the next pilot as the first fighter's wing caught fire and began plummeting down into the infinite space below. A bolt sped past the roof of the _Falcon's_ cockpit as he aimed directly into the window of the TIE fighter.

He could see the body of the pilot as the small vessel imploded into scrap metal and floated away.

His next shot was calculated so the Fighter he targeted would spin into the one behind it, causing both ships to explode upon each other. The last two fighters he took down with ease.

With no pleasure, but no twinges of regret, Luke turned the _Millenium Falcon_ around and once again accelerated its speed as a distant Star Destroyer began to drift in his direction from the far-off planet.

He used the Force to boost his speed, willing the _Falcon_ to flee from the pursuing Imperials, far from the destruction of Takodana and his own wrongdoings, and towards the cause he had long ago pledged himself to and the people within it he cherished greatly...

As he drifted within his craft among the stars, alone in the wide, endless galaxy, a familiar, yet long-forgotten voice came to him.

"You did the right thing, Luke."

Luke looked around in the _Falcon's_ cockpit, before remembering with embarrassment that he could not necessarily see the Force spirit calling to him.

"Ben?" he said aloud, incredulous that his old mentor would come to him now of all times, "Where were you when I needed you? When Vader had me or when I nearly fell?"

"I wanted to come to you and guide you back onto the right path," the deceased Jedi Master said forlornly, "but I could not, because you did not want my guidance. You had shut yourself off from my help by siding with Vader and the dark side. I was powerless to do anything."

Luke was struck once again by how badly he'd messed everything up. How could he have been so selfish, so idealistic? Maybe his uncle Owen had been right about the Jedi and the galaxy at large after all.

"You lied to me," Luke said as he returned to the offensive, "You had every chance to tell me about my mother and you didn't. Vader said you were responsible for her death."

"And do you you believe him?"

In his heart of hearts, Luke never had believed Vader when he'd spoken to him about his mother. He had only wanted to believe Obi Wan had caused her death, as a reason to hate him and the light side. He had believed what he'd wanted to believe, like Vader before him.

"I don't," he replied honestly, "but I sensed that he wasn't entirely wrong."

"I was not blameless in what happened to your mother. Padme Amidala was an idealistic being, like yourself, and she believed she alone could save Anakin from the darkness. I interfered in the hope of saving her from his wrath, but in the end, it was my precense that angered your father enough to harm the one he loved most."

Luke could imagine this playing out, and the asked himself a question beginning to gnaw at him. Given proper motivation and rage, would he harm Leia and his friends in this way? Would he turn on them in the heat of the moment, costing him the lives of those he loved most?

"You were right, Ben," Luke sighed in defeat, "My father is gone forever. Vader's all that is left."

While Ben realized that the vital realization he had himself been forced to learn had finally gotten through to Luke, he had to admit it crushed his ghostly spirit to see such a true, determined being as Luke resign to the dark reality. He wished it could have been different, and he still blamed himself every day of his life and death, despite all rationality and reasoning, for the loss of his best friend and brother.

As he rested within his state-of-the-art bacta tank, well protected from any outside threat, Vader sensed with extreme rage his son's escape and departure from the system. Once again, Skywalker had gotten away and would run back to his friends.

Vader would give the boy no chances next time. It would be death to him and his Rebellion. True, it would be near impossible to find another apprentice given the state of things, but Vader knew he could not afford to let Luke Skywalker live any longer.

Leia too, would have to die. She had proved even more resilient and committed to her ideals than her brother, and attempting to convert her would be and impossible and unproductive task. The Skywalker bloodline would end with him, or rather, the bit of Anakin that remained in him.

That man would be gone with the deaths of his children, every bit as consumed in the dark side as Palpatine had been. And Vader would no longer be a shell of someone else. He would be his own being, a living weapon of mass destruction.

 _You were my brother Anakin, I loved you!_

In his mind, Vader could imagine Obi Wan consumed by the lava, dying on Mustafar with his victory left moot.

 _Anakin, come back! I love you!_ He should have finished Padme off back then, before she had given birth to her failures of children. She had done nothing but hold him back. Even when he was small on Tatooine, Padme had argued against his entry in that fateful Podrace. He hated her too now, for haunting his very existence.

He could now see himself as a young Sith Lord, whole and fit and wielding his blade of power, striking his Master where he stood. He should have claimed his Empire right then and there, no longer the servant of another being.

He relived the battle in the Jedi temple, every duel with every Master, Knight and Padawan, the ransacking of the Jedi archives, the killing of every Youngling, spared from the brainwashing of the Jedi order, never to carry on the poisoned doctrines of time long passed.

Vader remained deep in meditation as he was lifted out of the bacta tank into his new suit of armor, his repaired helmet being fitted onto his scarred, twisted features.

As he breathed in his usual pattern, Vader gazed out into the _Executor_ from behind his mask. The face of the Empire was back.

 _Hoooo...ssshhhhh. Hoooo...ssshhhhh._

Admiral Piett turned in surprise as the rejuvenated Lord Vader stepped onto the command bridge of the _Executor._

Lord Vader," he said, unsure of what to expect from his superior, "I am pleased to see you are well and recovered."

Vader faced the outside of the Super Star Destroyer, surveying the assembled Imperial fleet, fully armed and ready for war as it had been designed for.

"I know to where the Rebel fleet is bound," Vader informed the admiral with intense finality, "We shall take every last craft and we shall ambush them without mercy and we shall not relent until every last rebel is dead and dust."

Admiral Piett gazed into Vader's faceless mask. "My lord?" he asked hesitantly, knowing of his master's unpredictability, "Even..." he dared not say the name, yet he was well aware of Vader's years-long obsession and conquest.

"Yes, even the Jedi Skywalker. We shall complete what began all those years ago and end the rebellion and the Jedi order once and for all. This will be a battle to the finish."

At the controls of shuttle _Tydirium_ Leia was hit with a jolt from within, and she suddenly yanked he lever to change the direction of the leading rebel ship.

"Princess Leia, Princess Leia," Admiral Ackbar said urgently from the command station of _Home One,_ "you've changed your course of flight. What happened?"

In near perfect harmony, the Rebel fleet halted and changed direction to follow the Imperial shuttle.

"I sense him again, now, he's this way," Leia said, breathing a sigh of relief as she realized that her brother had escaped both Vader's clutches and the pull of the dark side of the Force, "he's all right."

Her feelings of relief and even elation carried over to Han, who smiled and stroked her hair as Chewbacca let out a roar and Threepio said, "Oh, thank the maker! Master Luke is all right!"

"And Vader?" said the voice of Mon Mothma, "what of him?"

"He's still alive," Leia replied grimly, "he means to find us and destroy us all."

Silence as the fleet continued to parade after _Tydirium_ the entire military relying on Leia's instincts as well as her attunement to the Force and her own brother.

"Then we will oppose him with every last breath," Mothma replied, knowing that for better or worse, the war would come to a climactic end very soon.


	13. War to End All Wars

**A/N:** I apologize for deleting and readding those last few chapters in my story, however, I noticed a glaring plot hole and had to rectify it as soon as possible. Enjoy. **A/N**

Luke knew that eventually, he would have to face up to his war crimes on Takodana and his killing of innocent beings. He was unsure exactly how, if or when he would admit to his heinous acts alongside Vader

And so he continued to reach out to Leia, to let her know that he was approaching so the Rebels were aware of his precense. Though it was secondary in his mind, Luke saw on the _Falcon's_ scanners that he was approaching none other than his own home planet of Tatooine.

Was it a coincidence, Luke briefly wondered, that it was Tatooine where the Rebel fleet was bound, with Leia expecting his return? It didn't matter, all that mattered right then and there was finding his friends again and standing with them to the end.

Aboard the shuttle _Tydirium_ Leia was deep in meditation as she guided the Rebel fleet along their trajectory, sensing Luke's presence growing nearer.

 _Leia... I'm coming..._

 _Luke..._

Through theradio of _Tydirium_ , an alarm could be heard blaring inside the command ship _Home One._

"We've got a single vessel entering our trajectory!" General Madine exclaimed.

Leia jolted with a start, realizing exactly who it was.

"Wait! Stop!" she shouted, "It's Luke!"

"And the _Falcon!_ " Han yelled.

Sure enough, the approaching freighter did not attempt to engage the Rebel fighters or cruisers in combat, however, several X and Y Wing pilots opened fire on instinct.

"No!" Han and Leia shouted in unison, as Chewbacca let out a great howl.

However, every single laser bolt fired at Luke's stolen fighter halted in the midst of their course, suspended in the vacuum of space.

Then, one by one, Luke sent each jet of laser fire flying to the side, streaking across space out of sight.

"Commander Skywalker to _Home One,"_ Luke said into his radio as soon as he'd patched a signal, "I repeat, Commander Skywalker to _Home One."_

"Commander Skywalker has returned!" Admiral Ackbar announced, and a cheer rang out throughout the fighters and cruise ships.

Luke gazed out the hatch of his TIE Fighter and saw at the forefront of the fleet the repainted shuttle _Tydirium_ sensing Leia's precense aboard. Han was there, and Chewie, and...

There was something different about their dynamic, Luke knew. Lando wasn't there, he was aboard the mother ship _Home One_ nor was anyone else, yet Luke sensed something different between Han and Leia besides the love that had existed before.

He slowly steered his craft towards _Home One_ as the blast doors slid open to reveal the hangar.

Following Luke, the several dozen Rebel fighters began to dock aboard their capital ship, their mission accomplished.

"Luke, hey Luke!" Several rebel pilots were swarming towards him, Lando Calrissian at the forefront. Luke had to shake each of their hands, give a fudged explanation of how he'd escaped from Vader. Let them think he had broken out of his chains and ran away

And so, painstakingly, he lied and told them of how Vader had tried to convert him by torture and had forced him to witness terrible crimes, all while in his mind replaying the massacre he'd helped lead on Takodana, the body of the little red-haired boy cut up by Vader's remorseless blade...

He'd never been more grateful to hear Leia's calling of his name, and that was saying something.

He turned in weary relief as she, Han, Chewie and the droids made their way over to him.

"All right, give the Commander a break," Lando said as he directed the pilots aside with the help of security patrols.

"Luke!" Leia grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the group.

"Hey, kid, you really scared us, taking off like that!" Han exclaimed as he hugged his friend. Chewbacca covered them all with a giant Wookiee hug and howled.

Luke closed his eyes as he embraced them all in return, trying to push away his intense guilt. A Jedi can't afford to live in the past, he told himself, he had to focus on righting the present.

As he held them all close, he again sensed that something had changed. He looked to Leia as they released and asked, "What's going on."

"Let's take it inside the _Falcon,_ " Leia replied.

And they proceeded through the entrance of the Rebel Alliance's best ship that had now once again been into the belly of the beast and out again.

Sitting down in the passenger compartment around the holochess table, Han said to Luke, "Listen kid, I know you've been through hell with Vader and the Empire, but there's something we want to tell you first." He looked to Leia expectantly, who nodded and said to Luke;

"Listen, I know with what you went through this isn't a good time for this kind of news or anything but..." she paused and went forth with it. "I'm pregnant."

Luke leaned back in his seat, this information piling on top of everything he had been forced to process. Leia pregant, adding a baby in the midst of the Galactic Civil War, a baby to carry on the legacy when they were both gone...

And Luke allowed it all to go. It didn't matter that he was a Jedi, or that he'd aided with mass unprovoked murder, or that they were docked on a warship, or that the threat of Vader loomed over them all.

His sister was pregnant and he was going to be an uncle. No matter what else, this was something to celebrate.

"Congratulations, I'm happy for you both," Luke said, allowing for the first time in too long a genuine smile to form. "Your baby is going to be a blessing."

"Yeah, It sure is," Han grinned.

How ironic, Vader reflected as he stood with Admiral Piett and a captain on the _Executor's_ command bridge overlooking the Tatooine system, that this was where the endgame battle would take place. The site of Luke's death and the end of the Rebellion would culminate above the world where it had all started for both of them; where at different times Luke and his father had discovered the Jedi path.

Actually, it was quite fitting. The Jedi would end here just as it was intended long ago.

"Preparing to initiate long range cannons," the captain reported.

"I shall oversee their final destruction aboard my fighter," Vader informed Piett, "I am leaving you in charge of all operations aboard my Star Destroyer." He was not content to watch each explosion one by one aboard the _Executor,_ he needed to be a part of the action, see for himself the death of each and every Rebel. Especially Skywalker and the Princess.

Piett swallowed, startled by Vader's addressing of him. Vader was leaving him to command the main command ship during the final description of the Rebel alliance. The end of the war rested in his hands, as did the deaths of the millions of Rebels aboard the dozens of craft and vessels hovering in orbit of Tatooine.

There was nothing to say but the obvious.

"As you wish, My lord."

Vader turned without another word and headed off the command bridge for his personal advanced TIE Fighter.

"You may fire when ready," Piett said to the crew below deck, clasping his hands anxiously behind his back.

Luke was suddenly struck with a sharp pain to the head as he sensed what was coming.

He leapt to his feet and raced to the _Falcon'_ s exit as Han and Leia raced after him.

"Luke, what is it?" Leia called out.

At that moment, alarms began blaring as Admiral Ackbar said into the intercom, "Imperial fleet detected! All pilots man your fighters!"

A fast, infinitely stretched laser the color of Luke's lightsaber blade grew across the vast infinity of the stars and abruptly struck a nearby bull cruiser.

"Oh, no," Luke groaned. "I better get to my fighter."

He had a terrible feeling that the end was coming. He may not have a chance to see Han and Leia again. He looked back at his two greatest friends, blinking back tears. Artoo came wheeling alongside his master, ready for what was to come.

"May the Force be with you," he choked, "all of you."

"I believe in you, kid!" Han said, not wanting to hold anything back, "If you want to credit your Force-thing, fine, but I believe in you. You saved me from Jabba and you destroyed the first Death Star. You taught me what it means to..."

The hangar of _Home One_ rocked with explosions as the TIE fighters subjected it to heavy ammunition.

Around the main cruiser, the Star Destroyer fleet was tearing apart the other vessels.

"All craft, prepare for emergency evacuation!" Admiral Ackbar shouted into the intercom as his fellow officers took off to their own transports. Ackbar however, refused to depart until he knew the rest of the personnel aboard was safe.

"We're under heavy attack and we've already lost three of our own cruisers!"

The Mon Calamari officer sighed with grief as he watched the fleet he'd built nearly-singlehandedly crumble into dust and atoms. There was little they could do against a surprise attack of this magnitude.

As Vader blasted fighter after fighter, thoroughly enjoying himself despite the high stakes, he appreciated the fact that despite his escape, Luke had essentially served as a beacon to lure Vader and his fleet to his friends. Luke would die knowing he had caused his own side's total defeat.

Vader noticed an Imperial shuttle similar to his own flying towards him. He hesitated for a fraction of a second before it opened fire. He realized with annoyance that it was shuttle _Tydirium,_ stolen by those infernal Rebels.

It mattered not. The loss was nothing compared to what the Rebellion would face today. All the hard work of those treacherous Senators had started.

The last of the original Delegation of 2000, Mon Mothma herself, was aboard. She would know her doom now, the ultimate price for plotting against the government that provided her home planet with defense and order.

But that meant nothing compared to his own son and daughter, now trapped within the burning hangar of _Home One._

This was it. If he killled them now, there would be no more chance to train either of them as an apprentice. The last of his family ties would be gone forever, swept away like the debris from the Rebel ships and fighters into the unknown vacuum...

No. He had allowed such sentimentality to rot his brain for too long. The last legacy of Padme would be gone and Vader would at last truly break free of his final restraints.

He aimed his laser cannons directly at _Home One'_ s main command station.

 _Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth...Vader..._

He fired, sending those green jets of doom at the besieged _Home One._

Mon Mothma saw the blasts coming before they reached her. She had served the true, Galactic Republic her entire life, whether it was in power or not. She knew that the Rebellion would die today, but she told herself that the spark of hope would never fade.

One day, another army would rise and topple the Sith and their reign of terror. The light never died, her friend and colleague Padme Amidala had taught her that...

The good will win in the end, Mothma thought, as always. She braced herself as the command center erupted in inferno and was blasted away.

"You'll pay for that!" Lando yelled with sudden anger and shock as he saw the north wing of the Mon Calamari cruiser split into segments of flaming debris.

He fired at the large, curve-winged TIE Fighter. He would make it pay for what it had done to the cause he had come to follow with a bleeding heart. He'd only been in it at the beginning out of guilt, Lando had to admit. He'd felt he'd owed it to Han to join the side that his friend had believed in.

If a cynical outlaw like Han could embrace a noble cause with such passion, so could Lando. And through it, he'd known friendship, the kind that money and wealth made scarce.

Those were his thoughts as he fired at Vader's fighter, and those were his thoughts as the green streak of rapid fire tore his shuttle apart.

Lando flinched as his surroundings were filled with smoke and gas and he let go.

"LANDO!"

Standing with the others on the landing platform of _Home One,_ Han let out a bloodcurdling scream as he watched his old friend be consumed in a fiery explosion.

They stood there amidst falling chunks of steel and ashes, Rebel ships being crushed as _Home One_ fell under siege. The last and strongest Rebel control ship was sinking amidst the surrounding volleys of fire, descending into the abyss below.

Her eyes filled with sweat and tears, Leia shouted, "Let's get out on the _Falcon_ while we can!"

What a nightmare!" Threepio fretted, "I can't see a thing!"

Chewbacca let out an urgent growl as he grabbed Threepio and began carrying the protocol droid toward the ship as the others followed.

"Take cover!" Luke yelled as he sensed danger.

He wrapped Leia into his arms and pulled her down as the ceiling above came crashing down.

When he dared to look up, he saw the _Falcon_ split down the middle by a fallen column, Han weeping over his destroyed ship.

"We have to beat them!" he yelled vigorously, "We're going to make it through this, and we're going to destroy those bastards!"

Chewbacca let out a mournful cry as he pulled out of the rubble the remains of the crushed Threepio.

"Artoo...Artoo... Arrr..." was all that came out of the broken droid's vocabulator.

Artoo whistled sadly over the loss of his best friend and counterpart. Helping his pregnant sister to her feet, Luke rubbed the top of Artoo's domed head and, as Leia embraced Han in preparation for the end, the young Jedi gazed at the TIE Fighter directly facing them, cannons ready to fire.

They may have been nearly entirely defeated, but Luke knew that he would not allow his friends to die. They would live to reestablish the Rebellion against the Empire and build it up from the ground once again.

He heard the voice of Yoda saying, _Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. Size matters not._

And Luke knew that saving his friends mattered more than the size of the fleet surrounding them or the physical damage done to the Rebellion.

Vader could sense his son's thoughts, and his never-ending idealism. He could feel Luke telepathically reaching to him in a last move of desperation.

 _I don't want to fight you father, but you'll leave me no choice._

 _Don't do this._

 _He could see the figures standing in the middle of_ the descending Rebel cruiser, trying to remain standing and breathing despite the toxic air surrounding them.

Every single Jedi, including your friend Obi Wan Kenobi, is an enemy of the Republic. Do what must be done.

Vader slipped his gloved fingers onto the trigger, concentrating intensely on his targets.

Once more, the Sith will rule the galaxy.

Luke braced himself in preparation, knowing this would be the ultimate test of his strength as a Jedi, both physically and mentally. He was beyond the material dangers around him, as long as he had the Force.

"The war is just beginning," he said to himself as he glanced at Han, Chewbacca and Leia.

And we...shall have...peace...

Holding dear everything taught to him by his Jedi mentors as well as his experiences with the Rebellion and his beloved friends, Luke raised his flesh hand as the laserfire flew their way.

He strained as he struggled to hold the bolts in mid-space, as chunks of wreckage around them flew into the rocky, sandy surface of Tatooine or disappeared towards distant stars.

And in that moment, nothing mattered but his will. His will against Darth Vader's.

Luke was ready as Vader launched a second round. He raised his other hand, his body sliding back as he willed Home One to remain in place.

He was aware of Vader's rage as he glared through the window of his cockpit, from behind his obsidian mask. Luke's joints and bones were about to collapse, but he had to remain strong, for everybody, he was a Jedi, he'd make them proud...

And then came a blast from the Executor, upon the command of Piett, that struck the center of Home One and sent the remaining pieces flying into oblivion.

As the deck below him disappeared, Luke let go of the fire from the TIE Fighter and concentrated solely on his friends, and the debris they remained trapped in, flying towards the surface below.

And as the body of Luke Skywalker fell towards the surface of Tatooine, nearly dead but surviving only by the guidance of the Force spirits, Han, Leia and Chewbacca plummeted in the remains of the Falcon towards the sand below.

Vader's hatred and fury were momentarily replaced by sheer awe as he watched Luke's limp form gracefully descend from the vacuum of space towards the atmosphere of Tatooine, until it disappeared from sight along with the scattered debris that remained of the Rebel Alliance.

And it was this awe that blinded Vader from the chunk that slammed into his wing. As a piece of his Fighter was blasted off, Vader furiously tried to work the controls of his ship as it too began to streak towards the desert hell that awaited.


	14. Eternal Light and Darkness

_Luke...Luke..._

 _Leia..._

 _Obi Wan... there is still... good in..._

Luke's consciousness floated in the unknown, seeing nothing but black. He believed himself to be dead, gone with the entire Rebel fleet. Their entire supply of resources had been wasted on him, as well as most of the personnel of the leadership and military.

He'd taken his dark, evil secret to the grave, never to atone for his heinous actions. He was certainly bound for damnation now, there was no way he would see Obi Wan or Yoda again.

No matter. All he'd wanted after his death was to watch over his friends and family, with a new child on the way. He'd never be able to do that either, all because he'd fallen to the dark side, if only briefly.

As he remained in limbo, the vague, blue outline of Kenobi's ghost appeared amid the backdrop of the abyss.

"Save your strength, Luke."

 _Ben... I'm sorry..._

"Your friends need you, Luke. The galaxy still needs you. You must carry on the torch of the Jedi."

In the nightfallen Dune Sea, the burning remains of _Home One'_ s hangar laid emitting cinders and ashes throughout the humid desert bleakness. Chewbacca supported the injured, wounded Han and Leia to where Luke had landed, nearly dead from his exhaustive use of the Force and loss of air in the vacuum of space.

"He's still alive," Leia choked, her breath impaired by both the smoke and flames and her emotions.

Han knelt and felt his friend's pulse as Leia placed a hand to her brother's forehead. Chewbacca let out a low, soft growl as he draped his arms around them protectively.

"I can try to heal him," Leia said as she tapped again into the Force, praying for Obi Wan Kenobi to help her, "I don't know if I'm that strong yet."

 _Use your strength from within, Leia. Use the warmth and love inside yourself._

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the energy in her heart, and her deep impassioned desire to make it through the crisis with all those who remained, especially her child on the way.

 _Luke._

She remembered the blond haired boy standing outside her cell in his borrowed stormtrooper armor, watching his X Wing land after the Death Star was destroyed, hearing him tell her the truth about their family and her unknown powers...

She saw the younger Kenobi kneeling at the bedside of their mother, cradling Luke as the delivery droid brought her out of her mother's womb. Her mother's last breath, her bundle being passed from Obi Wan to Bail Organa aboard Organa's ship that later became hers...

And felt Luke's head grow warm as her love was converted into strength, transmitting into him.

"His pulse is getting stronger," Han said as he felt his own bones aching from the crash. "He saved us all from burning up in this thing."

"Han..." Luke muttered as his conciousness returned... "Leia... Chewie..."

Chewbacca let out a roar as Luke's eyes fluttered open, gazing around. He was still too weak to stand, and could barely feel himself lying on the scorching, crumbled hangar floor.

"You're okay, Luke," Leia said, "We're all okay."

"I'm sorry," Luke mumbled, "I did... terrible things..."

"Luke, what are you talking about?" Leia asked in bewilderment.

"Vader... Takodana..." Luke knew he owed he truth to his friends, he had to tell them while he still had time.

"Hey, stay with us, kid," Han said as Luke's breath slowed, "come on, stay with us."

A shadow passed over Leia as a chill entered her spine. She knew the feeling creeping over her very well, it was once she'd experienced for many years, from Coruscant to the Death Star to Cloud City.

Quiet, staggering footsteps drew near as the silhouette of a caped, helmeted figure drew onto the sandy floor, illuminated by the flames burning on either side of them. That familiar, dreaded breathing rang throughout the night, filling the remains of _Home One'_ s hangar.

"No," Leia muttered hopelessly as the towering, fully masked Darth Vader entered.

Han instinctively stood as he faces the dark warrior, weaponless. He moved his frame to conceal Leia and the ailing Luke.

"You'll have to get through me to get to either of them," he said, knowing he was about to die. Even if Leia, Chewbacca and Luke did not make it, he would go down with his last breath to defend them all.

Vader said nothing in reply, but activated the red blade in his clenched fist. The hellish light illuminated the shelter in which the four of them hid, now cornered by their worst enemy.

"This is the end of the line," the Dark Lord of the Sith said at last, "I am going to do what I should have done long ago."

Chewbacca let out an enraged howl, and charged as Han shouted, "Chewie, no!"

Leia screamed as she knew what was coming. She stood up with a mix of intense fury and devastation as Vader's blade cut through the Wookie.

Chewbacca let out a last growl of defiance as the plasma pierced through his fur and crumpled onto the metal floor with a crash.

"Chewie, no, Chewie," Han sobbed as he crept toward the body of his best and oldest friend. His life was over now, without Chewbacca...

"You're an evil monster," Leia snarled at him, with nothing but fury in her heart, "There's nothing inside you but emptiness and hate!"

"You are correct at last, Princess," Vader replied, "It is a shame that your moment of wisdom comes too late for you."

Luke struggled to get up, but the aching of his body pulled him down. After all this, he couldn't just let Vader win...

Han had risen from Chewie's body and began to creep towards the space between father and daughter.

As the Sith Lord moved forward with his lightsaber risen up high, Han dove at Leia and shoved her down.

"No..." Luke muttered helplessly as he sensed it.

"HAN!" came the screech as blade penetrated flesh and another scream of pain rang throughout the wreckage that burned in the midst of the Dune Sea.

Luke painfully turned his head to see Han falling and Leia catching him. The dying man put his hand to his sweetheart's belly, where his child now rested.

An unspoken message passed from Han to Leia and the smuggler-turned-Rebel hero fell onto the sand, reunited with his Wookiee companion.

Leia was too consumed with sorrow and grief beyond description to act. She fell to her knees beside Han, sobbing and clutching her belly that carried her child.

Darth Vader remained unmoved as he observed the scene through his helmet. He repositioned his blade to strike again as he enjoyed the inconsolable Leia's suffering. She would pay for her actions against him, and would never bring into the universe her... child. She had a child inside her. Vader's grandchild.

No, not his grandchild. The grandchild of a long dead man, as dead as these two Rebels would now be.

"Now," Vader said as he brought his blade down, "I am going to kill you just like I killed your weakling of a mother."

Just before his blade touched Leia's vulnerable form, Vader was hit by another body that knocked him sideways towards the walls of the broken hangar.

Filled with determined, Luke used the last of his life force to keep Vader at bay as Leia looked up in shock.

"Run!" he yelled as Vader struggled to bring his blade upward, both Luke's hands restraining him. The flames were surrounding them both, the air filled with smoke and ash

Leia stood and moved toward the struggling father and son, anxious and unsure of what to do.

"GO!" Luke shouted as he stared furiously through Vader's mask into his red and yellow eyes. "For the baby!"

And Leia knew that she had to leave Luke. As much as it pained her, she had no choice. She had to protect her unborn child, that came from the best of her family and Han's. She would raise the baby to follow the ideals of those who had died for him or her, and carry on the legacy left to Leia.

Determinedly and with a burst of vigor, Leia raced through the smoke towards the crumbling exit, onto the desert plains until she disappeared

With rage, Vader kicked out and sent Luke stumbling backwards. With a snarl, Vader stood and pointed his lightsaber.

"No more games, Jedi."

Luke collapsed onto the floor in exhaustion and landed with a crunch at Vader's feet.

Vader swiftly moved his blade downward, gripping it in both hands.

Just then, a flaming chunk of debris from the wrecked hangar came tumbling down. As Luke struggled to remain alive, he watched as Vader was hit and his cape caught fire, forced to drop his lightsaber.

 _I have to kill him. Make it right. For Leia, and everyone else who died._

Vader's rage was so great that it exceeded his conscious self. With a roar, the cyborg raised his gloved hands and shouted as he unleashed a lethal burst of Sith lightning. It was the first time in his career he had used such a lethal power, and it would ultimately cost him.

His rational mind faded as he let out his dark soul, electrocuting the limp form of Skywalker. The lightning rippled through the boy's brain, his heart, his skeleton until he was finally, truly, dead

Vader collapsed backward as the fire on his cape spread onto his arms and legs.

His organs were failing, the lightning had damaged his artificial body structure beyond repair.

As Vader slumped against the scorched metal wall, the front half of his helmet clattered onto the ruined deck to once more reveal his scarred, burnt face.

Leaning for support, Vader hobbled out of the hangar through an opening left by the battle damage onto the sand that he knew so well.

This was where his journey had began, through both the light and dark sides of the Force. He hadn't been to Tatooine since the death of his mother Shmi. He hadn't even thought about her in so many years.

And the dark lord rolled onto the sand, rolled away from the destroyed, shipwrecked craft until the flames were put out.

He couldn't feel himself or the ground, he only saw the night above him.

Weakly and with strength he did not have, Vader gazed over to the horizon, where the crack of dawn shined overhead.

The twin suns... he hadn't seen them since his boyhood...

It mattered not... he was done for...

His mother...

His Empire...

The twin suns slowly rose, turning the dark sky purple as a new day began on Tatooine.

Vader gazed at the dawn ahead, its orange rays resembling Vader's own eyes as if reflecting his own glare back at him.

 _Will I ever see you again, Mom?_

 _What does your heart tell you?_

Vader, to the end, was determined to hold on to his hatred with every last breath. He hated Obi Wan, the Jedi, Padme, Luke, Leia, all of it. Everything about his own existence, he hated with a vengeance.

 _You can't stop change anymore than you can stop the suns from setting._

The yellow pupils of darkness gazed at the rising suns, until they could gaze no more.

And the pair of eyes glared at Tatooine's dual sunrise, until the suns shifted high above and into the light of the new day.

As the wreckage of battle remained burning in the desolate sand dunes, the flames of death and decay burned brightly against the backdrop of the daylight, the smoke rising into the desert sky, forever, met by the bright, rotating suns.


	15. Epilogue

Aboard the mammoth _Executor,_ the Imperial crew celebrates their final victory over the Rebel Alliance. TIE Fighters soar triumphantly over Tatooine, the site of the conclusion of the Galactic Civil War.

On the command bridge, Admiral Piett summons back the search party of stormtroopers looking for their fallen ruler in the vast deserts, while about half of the officers within the fleet secretly celebrate the loss of the dreaded Lord of the Sith. The other half either mourns their respected war commander or is unsure of what is to become of them.

As a single body, the assembly of Star Destroyers return to Coruscant to declare the war complete.

Piett meets with former Grand Vizier Amedda to discuss the galaxy's transition from the long period that preceded into the future.

Amedda and Piett officially reunite the Galactic Senate, and pledge to use their military resources to help rebuild the planets devastated by the decades of conflict. They promise a more just society, one of cooperation and without fear.

As the planetary governments begin to embrace independent sovereignty with the aid of the Imperial Remnant, programs are established throughout the Core Worlds to rehabilitate the stormtroopers and officers long accustomed to a life based on war, ultimately preparing them for the transition to civilian life.

Over time, the spell cast by the Sith Lords is lifted and both citizens and government officials rejoice the end of Palpatine and Vader.

Once the planetary governments are sufficiently functioning, the Imperial military suddenly and quietly departs Coruscant, every Star Destroyer and every TIE Fighter, and disappears towards the Unknown Regions...

On the desert world of Tatooine, a young boy pilots a training speeder around the perimeter of the moisture farm in which he lives.

As a blue and white astromech droid watches, the boy laughs as he flies over the sand, and unknowingly, over the graveyard where the remains of long-dead relatives rest forever.

The boy finally stops the speeder as his long black hair stretches onto his innocent face. The droid goes to greet the boy as he strokes the domed head of the Artoo unit.

As the twin suns begin to set, a woman emerges from the dwelling in which she and her son live.

The boy runs to his mother, who hugs him tightly. As they stand embracing in front of the archway leading into their warm, cozy home, the mother gazes at the twin suns and thanks them that her boy does not know war or sorrow. Not before he has to.

As the boy presses his cheek against the woman's stomach affectionately, she gazed at the ledge in which the farm stands, at a point beyond the vaporators.

The droid wheels up to join them as the woman sees two distant, yet distinct figures watching her and her son. One is human, with a white beard and the look of a proud grandfather. The other is small, green skinned, and ancient.

She smiles at the spirits appreciatively, knowing the Force will be with her and her son. As the boy releases her to go inside, Leia follows.

As her body is inside the igloo-shapes adobe dwelling, Leia gazed back at the spirits. She notices two more have joined them. One is a young man, who like his fellow Jedi, is wearing the classic robes and smiles fondly, knowing that despite everything, the sun will not set on hope, not forever.

The other is a woman, who resembles both Leia and the young Jedi, brought into the physical world by the Force-spirits. Leia recognizes her immediately, her voice being the first she ever heard.

The woman looks to her other side, and briefly gives a silent sad expression, as if someone else belonged next to her but never again would be...

Then she looks to the spirit next to her and finally back towards her daughter.

Leia exchanges a knowing look with her mother, who had watched over her son for many years while he had grown up on this same moisture farm.

Finally, Leia follows her young son and droid into their home as the suns set on the isolated world. And the spirits, even after they disappear into the dusty air, remain present, always in the hearts of the ones who remember them.


End file.
